


Progression of the Hourglass

by Musaki_Dratonen



Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica, 盾の勇者の成り上がり - アネコユサギ | Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari | The Rising of the Shield Hero - Aneko Yusagi
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Crossover, Developing Friendships, Gen, Saving the World, Self-Discovery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:01:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 79,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27360001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Musaki_Dratonen/pseuds/Musaki_Dratonen
Summary: Homura has once again failed in her quest to stop Walpurgisnacht and save Madoka, but this time when she tries to reset, instead of awaking in her hospital room she wakes on an alter with 3 others. What's more, her shield has been replaced with one not her own. How will she survive long enough to return to Madoka?Based off of the Shield Hero Light Novels
Comments: 16
Kudos: 90





	1. Transition in Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After several recommendations, I am cross posting this story from FFN to here. I hope the people on this site enjoy it as much as the peeps on FFN have!

** Chapter 1 –  **

_ Transition in Time _

Homura gazed up at the condensing storm clouds, her mind numb with grief at her failure to accomplish her goal once again. Clenching her fist tightly around the bright red ribbon her best friend had given her before making her wish, her white coat and silver skirt soaked with rain from her previous battle, but now feeling like they're soaked with her and Madoka's tears. Near her, the familiar soft _tink_ of a grief seed landing on the ground sounded, Walpurgisnacht's. Sauntering almost smugly up to it, staring at her intently, was the annoying white _rat_ that was the cause for all this suffering.

" _Amazing, is it not, Homura Akemi? Her potential was so great that immediately after making her wish she was able to defeat even Walpurgisnacht in a single shot! Though I guess we have you to thank for that massive potential, do we not?"_ Tilting it's head slightly to the side, the creature that looked like a cute anime mascot mixture of a cat and a rabbit with it's ever present, _infuriating smile_ , stuck upon it's face regarded her in an approximation of curiosity and mocking.

"What are you talking about Incubator? How could I have possibly been responsible for Madoka's potential?" Glancing down at him in a small glare before returning her attention back to the growing cage shaped witch descending from the storm, looming imposing in her oppressiveness like a mountain. Her heart clenched with grief, as she reaffirms to herself her goal, to prevent this from happening. ' _About a minute left before I can leave,'_ she thought to herself, instinctively feeling the sand in her shield moving.

" _We managed to figure it out a little before Walpurgisnacht descended. You, Homura Akemi, are a time traveler. If I had to guess, you wished to save Madoka Kaname in your original timeline. Though the fact that it manifested in time magic is unique. Very few magical girls have had time magic throughout humanity's history. How many times have you repeated this loop? How many times have you failed to save Madoka Kaname?"_ the Incubator informed the magical girl. Questioning her on her _failures_.

Pursing her lips slightly, she debated about whether or not to answer it's question. As much as she hated the creature, she could not deny the fact that it did not lie directly. It omitted information as was useful, but if asked directly, it would always answer the truth, simply because it saw no reason to lie. Maybe she could get some useful answers out of it before she left. "About a hundred. I stopped counting a while ago. It made the grief easier to ignore." She finally answered, the last of the sand falling. She would leave after she got her answer.

" _Ah, that would indeed explain Madoka Kaname's massive potential. After going back one hundred times, every time after Madoka Kaname died or turned into a witch, that would add each previous world's potential and destiny to her. Her karmic weight, if you will, would increase every travel point. Every time you try again, you unknowingly would make it harder on yourself. Though I guess by the same logic, you would increase your own karmic weight as you forced reality to change for you, even if not by the same amount."_ the Incubator answered her, making her heart clinch tighter. _"You will make an excellent and powerful Witch when you finally fall. Please by all means, continue with your attempts Homura Akemi. When you and Madoka Kaname finally fall, we will gain the energy of over one hundred realities, more than enough to meet and vastly exceed our quota."_ it spoke mockingly into her mind. As if her failure was assured and she was merely delaying the inevitable.

As the form of Madoka's Witch finished forming and began to move, the symbols of the witch's name formed in her mind once again. Even after long since learning her name, having learned to read the glyphs from the Incubator in an early timeline, when she still believed in _Kyubey_ , she read them once more, allowing the name to burn her failure into her soul to always remember. _Kriemhild Gretchen_ , the Witch of Salvation. Turning to glare at the Incubator, she snarled, her anger flaring in response to his mocking. "We shall see _Incubator_. I will save Madoka, and I will not become a Witch to be used in your games!"

She grabbed the top of her buckler, the shield opening, exposing the hourglass filled with purple sand, all the sand in the bottom half. _'I will find a way to save Madoka! I will find a way to save everyone if it means spiting that rat!'_ she snarled in her mind. Unknown to her, the sand in the hourglass began to glow an incredibly soft green, right before she jerked her shield counterclockwise, inverting the glass against the flow of time.

As reality broke around her, the last thing she saw with a hint of smugness was the Incubators face splitting into pieces. But immediately after that, she realized something wasn't right. The travel wasn't smooth, she was losing control. Panic set in, _'This is not right, something is wrong! This is nothing like what has happened before!'_ Homura blacked out for a moment as she began to hurtle uncontrollably through time and space.

P-*-*-*-H

"Oh wow…"

As Homura regained consciousness, laying on what felt like stone, she heard the sound of someone marveling at something, as well as the sound of a couple of other people standing up. Quickly pushing herself up into a standing position, she took in the room around her, which looked a lot like a dungeon or basement in a medieval castle. On the floor which she just stood from was a geometric alchemical style circle like from an anime or manga she had seen Madoka or Sayaka read. To her left stood three boys, looking to be high schoolers at the youngest or college aged at the oldest. What stood out to her was the fact that each of them was holding a different weapon.

The oldest looking one that stood closest to her was holding a spear. His long blonde hair tied up in a stylish ponytail, similar to but not as long as Kyoko's long red hair. He was wearing a rather nice-looking blazer over a simple pair of slacks and a V-neck t-shirt.

To his left was a slightly effeminate looking boy, with chin length black hair, wearing a black jacket and some jeans. He was holding a sword.

At the end was the youngest looking boy, wearing what looked like a high school uniform, with curly blonde short hair, holding a bow. Her heart clenched slightly, immediately thinking of Madoka.

Looking down at herself, she noticed she was still wearing her magical girl outfit, and on her left arm. _'…that is not MY shield…'_ was a simple looking shield with a softly glowing green jewel in the center instead of the clock themed buckler she was so used to, and Madoka's ribbon in her right hand. She also noticed that her soul gem was gone, not in it's normal diamond form on the back of her hand, nor as a ring on her finger. Her prior panic was quickly returning. _'What is going on?'_

"What's all this?"

It seemed the others were just as confused as she was. "Where are we?" the sword boy asked some guys in robes in front of us.

"Oh heroes! Please save our world!" the one that seemed to be in charge begged, quickly kneeling and bowing kowtow, touching his forehead to the floor, making Homura feel extremely uncomfortable at being shown such reverence, though she refused to let it show on her face.

"What?!" was shouted by the boys, while the more reserved Homura made a sound of confusion and a slightly curious look on her face. "What is that supposed to mean?" asked the blonde spear wielder.

"There are many complications in this situation, but to offer a simple answer to your question, we have just completed an ancient ceremony and summoned you four heroes." The man, priest Homura supposed, answered, raising his head to answer clearly, but not getting up from kowtow.

"Summoned?" she muttered softly. That would make sense, and she supposed it would be possible with magic. While the boys looked a bit dubious despite the evidence. Homura did not blame them, she would be too if she was not a legitimate magical girl. Her perception of reality was twisted as it was. Even if it was a prank, she decided to at least hear them out. _'I need to finish this quickly and get back to Madoka.'_

"Our world teeters on the brink of destruction. Heroes, please lend us your strength," he continued while she was thinking, lowering his head back down. "Well, I can at least…" she started before she was interrupted.

"I don't think so."

"Yeah, me either."

"We can go back to our world, right? We'll talk about your problems after that."

The other three interjected. Homura glared at them slightly at being interrupted. They turned to look at her, all of them smiling, before suddenly looking slightly confused at her glare, as well as also just realizing in that moment that she was there and so young.

Shaking his head slightly, the sword wielder pointed his sword at the priest, and nearly shouted, "Don't you feel any guilt for calling people into your world without their permission?"

"Besides," interjected the boy with the bow, "even if we save you and bring peace to your world, you'll just send us back home, right? That just sounds like a job to me." He glared at the priest. "I wonder how much you've considered our opinion on this. I wonder how it could be worth our while. Depending on how the conversation goes, keep in mind that we might end up enemies of your world."

Homura narrowed her eyes slightly at them. _'So that is what they wanted. Compensation and confirmation of standing. I guess that makes sense.'_ Seeming to realize what was being asked, the priest quickly scrambled back up to his feet. "Yes, well, we would very much like you to speak with the king. He will discuss future compensation with you in the throne room." He answered the two younger looking boys.

"Whatever."

"Fine."

"I don't think it really matters who we talk to, but whatever."

These three were definitely more outspoken than Homura. While she shared their sentiments to a degree, she did not see a reason to be quite as rude. While a certain blue haired idiot would say otherwise, she could be blunt and callous, but she tried to not be rude, as it served to only make matters worse than they needed to be.

Looking away from the boys, she turned to look back towards the priest that had summoned them. "If you'll follow me, I'll take you to the king now." He said, leaning against the heavy looking iron door to slowly push it open before pointing in the direction they needed to go. Homura quietly followed behind her softly complaining companions, she carefully put the ribbon into one of her coat pockets, taking in everything around her.

As they walked out of the relatively dark room into a well lit stone hallway, Homura was suddenly surprised by something simple, _'The air feels…fresher…than I'm used to…'_ she thought to herself, looking out of the large windows over the medieval looking town below them and out towards the surrounding countryside. _'Though considering this world looks to not have any major technological developments, that would make sense.'_ Homura felt the desire to stop and admire the view for a moment, to gather herself, but she resisted the urge, as they shortly reached the throne room.

"Huh, so these kids are the [Four Holy Heroes]?" asked an old, important looking man. With his long gray hair, neatly trimmed beard, bright purple robes and the golden crown upon his head, it was easy for Homura to determine that this must have been the king. While reserving further judgement, the magical girl did not develop a good first impression of him, with the blatant condescending tone in his voice. _'To summon us from our own worlds, to protect his own, and then proceed to treat us like we are below him? Either he believes in his own superiority that much, or something else is going on.'_

"My name is Aultcray Melromarc XXXII, and I rule these lands. Heroes, show me your faces!" the king declared. Homura furrowed her brow slightly, resisting the urge to comment that they were all already looking up at him. Her opinion of the man took yet another hit. She had the feeling that it was just going to continue.

"Now then, I shall begin with an explanation. This country- no, this whole world- is on the brink of destruction. We are under attack from something known as the [Waves of Destruction], and we have already suffered the first of what is prophesized to be many. Our legends spoke that when the sands within the [Dragon's Hourglass] began to fall we should summon the [Four Holy Heroes] to protect us. When the sand first began to fall one month ago, we ignored the legend, believing it to be nothing but a fairy tale. We paid dearly for that mistake. When the sky opened up and began to release thousands of monsters into this world, several towns and villages were destroyed, and many lives were lost. While my knights and this country's adventurers were able to eventually kill the majority of the monster, legend speaks that each wave will be worse than the last, and that if the waves are not stopped, then they will continue until there is nothing left of this world. So after ignoring it once and suffering the consequences, we decided to heed the legends and have summoned you [Four Holy Heroes], please hear our plea and save our world from the [Waves of Destruction]!"

Homura narrowed her eyes slightly. It all sounded so…fake and cliché. But then again, she had thought something similar about magical girls before she encountered her first [Labyrinth]. Plus this sounded like it would not be a quick mission. If she helped this world, what would happen in her world, to Madoka? Would she be able to return to March 16th in her hospital room? Would she return to find Mitakihara a ruin and Madoka a Witch?

"All right," said the boy with the bow, "I think I understand where you're coming from. But does that mean you are basically commanding us to help you?"

"Seems all fine and good…for you." Continued the sword wielder.

"I agree. All this sounds pretty self-centered to me. If your world is on the road to destruction, just let it burn. I don't see what it has to do with us." Spoke the spear wielder. Homura could hear the soft condescending giggle from standing next to him, telling her that he must have actually thought it was cool or something like that despite his words. Homura decided it was finally time for her to say something.

"As they have said, we do not have a responsibility to help you. If we dedicate our time and lives to helping save your world, do we get anything else besides a 'Thank You, Goodbye'? What about sending us back to our own worlds after everything? Some of us have important jobs that must be completed." Homura spoke clearly to the old king, who seemed to do a small double-take when he finally looked at her. It annoyed Homura deeply that everyone would think less of her for being so young. She was sure just from looking at how the boys held their weapons that they had no combat experience while she had _years_ , if not over a decade, of experience by now.

"Ah, yes, well…"the king stumbled slightly before looking at his attending vassal for a moment, coughing slightly into his fist to regain his trail of thought. "Of course, we were planning on compensating all of you for your efforts, on top of providing you general support financially or otherwise as we are able." The king answered the three boys first, before turning his attention back towards Homura. In his eyes, she saw hesitation and confusion, "…As for returning to your own worlds, [Shield Hero], legends state that you may return if that is your desire upon completing the [Waves of Destruction]. It has been written by previous Heroes that have decided to stay here, that they were offered rewards by the [Holy Weapons] for completing their task. What those rewards were, they did not write down, just that they were offered. Does that answer your question, madam?"

Homura felt some of the panic and tension she'd been feeling since her arrival fade. If it was possible to return to her world, even if it was after Madoka fell, she felt confident that she could still reset back to the hospital. _'Besides, maybe I can learn things that I'll be able to use in my world.'_ She thought to herself. If they were able to perform summoning magic, it was likely that magic was more widespread here rather than being limited to magical girls and Witches, surely there would be things that she would be able to use. Every advantage she could get to throw at Walpurgisnacht, the less likely Madoka was to contract.

"Oh yeah? Cool. Well, as long as you promise that, I don't think we'll have a problem." Responded the spearman.

"Don't think you've bought us off. As long as we aren't enemies, I'll help you out, though." The bowman.

"Agreed." The swordsman.

"Me too." Homura responded.

"Very well then, heroes. Now, if you'd please tell us your names." The king gestured his hand towards us.

The swordsman stepped forward first, not even glancing at any of us other three, annoying Homura slightly at his rudeness. "My name is Ren Amaki. I am 16 years old and a high school student." Committing his name to her memory, she looked over him in detail. She admitted that he was a decently attractive young guy, relatively short, only a bit taller than her at maybe 160 cm (5 foot 3 inches). He was definitely an effeminate boy; it would be easy enough to mistake him for a girl if he cross-dressed. He looked and gave off a stereotypical pretty boy swordsman from one of Sayaka's manga.

Stepping back to his spot, the taller spearman glanced over at the other two, before stepping forward. "All right, I'll go next. My name is Motoyasu Kitamura. I'm 21 and a college student." To Homura, he gave off similar vibes to Mami, but if she was a boy instead, like older brother vibes. He stood at a respectable 170 cm(5 foot 7 inches). Homura would not be surprised if he were a bit of playboy, he was certainly handsome enough.

As he stepped back, the Bow Hero glanced at her before stepping forward himself. "Okay, my turn. I'm Itsuki Kawasumi. I'm 17 and still in high school." Standing at about the same height as herself, roughly 155 cm (5 foot 1 inch), he still looked older despite his short stature for his age. He gave off the air of being a quiet musician type, while having some kind of inner strength. If the Spear Hero was an outgoing older brother type, then Itsuki was the soft-spoken younger brother.

Watching him step back into his spot, she finally stepped forward. "I guess I am last. My name is Homura Akemi. I am 14 years old, and a middle school student." Looking up at the king, she saw him looking back with a conflicted look in his eyes. Almost as if he hated her but a part of him did not want to. She narrowed her eyes slightly in confusion before stepping back next to Motoyasu.

"Now then. Ren, Motoyasu, Itsuki, and…Homura, correct?" The king seemed to hesitate before announcing her name, but to her it did not feel as if he was struggling to remember it, but whether it should be included. Her intuition was telling her that something was going on. Something that she would not like. Receiving confirmation all around, he then clapped and spread his arms open. "Now then, heroes, please confirm your status and give yourselves an objective evaluation."

"Huh?" Homura, along with the Bow and Spear Heroes were confused. "Excuse me, but how are we supposed to evaluate ourselves?" Itsuki asked.

Ren let out a loud sigh, like he thought they were stupid, and he did not want to waste the time to explain it. "You mean to say that you all haven't figured it out yet? Didn't you realize it the moment you arrived here?" Homura turned to glare slightly at him, annoyed at his "know-it-all" personality. "I mean," he continued, "haven't you noticed any weird icons hanging out in your peripheral vision?"

Homura raised an eyebrow at him, before turning her attention to her peripheral vision. It was then that she noticed a small circle with a shield in it at the bottom right corner of her vision that would move as she looked around. "Just focus on that icon." The Sword Hero explained.

Focusing her full attention on to the icon, it seemed to open just like an internet window on a computer until it filled her field of vision almost completely with a semi transparent window.

**{ Homura Akemi**

**Class: Shield Hero LV 1**

**Equipment: [Small Shield] (legendary armament)**

**[Magical Girl Clothing]**

**Skills: none**

**Magic: / [Time Manipulation] / (sealed)**

**[Mana Manipulation]**

**[Barrier] }**

There were several other things on the screen that opened, but there was one thing that caught Homura's attention the most at the moment. She glared softly at the grayed-out words [Time Manipulation] and the word sealed next to it. Her greatest power, and it was sealed for some reason. Was it because she did not have access to her shield or her soul gem? Or did it have something to do with the world itself? While not something she ever investigated, she knew in mythology and from Sayaka and Madoka's interest in manga, that it was not uncommon for the world itself to be believed to be sentient or alive in some form. Her second thought was how…game like everything seemed. She knew LV was a common abbreviation for [Level] in video games and was used to refer to how strong someone or something was.

"Level 1…that makes me nervous."

"Good point. At this rate, who knows if we'll even be able to fight at all?"

"What is all this?"

Homura kept quiet, but silently agreed with the other three heroes. She also knew it was common in video games to start at level 1, but it was still concerning. How could a level 1 be expected to fight something said to cause the end of the world?

"Do these things not exist in your worlds, heroes? You are experiencing [Status] magic. Everyone in this world can see and use it." The king explained to the confused heroes.

"Really?" Homura softly muttered. Despite not being familiar with gaming beyond her interactions with Sayaka and Kyoko's interests in it, she found it amazing to be able to have numerical expressions of your physical body.

"And what are we supposed to do? These numbers seem awfully low." Ren asked the king.

"Yes, well, you will need to go on a journey to further polish your abilities and to strengthen the legendary weapons you possess."

"Strengthen them? You mean these things aren't strong right from the get-go?" responded Motoyasu to the king's explanation.

"That is correct. The summoned heroes must raise their legendary weapons by themselves. That is how they will grow strong, along with the heroes themselves."

Motoyasu began to lazily spin his spear around, thinking out loud. "Why don't we just use different weapons while these are bulking up? Seems smart to me."

Homura agreed to herself silently. She was used to needing to wield other weapons to do anything by herself anyways. With only a shield currently, she doubted she would be able to do much.

"We can work all that out later on. Right now, we should focus on improving ourselves, just like the king asked us to do." Ren cut off the conversation before it could continue. Again, Homura had to agree, but she knew she would need to at least look into getting a weapon before setting out.

"Are we going to form a party? The four of us?" Motoyasu asked us. Homura looked slightly confused at the word party. And then she remembered the explanation given to her, what seemed so long ago, by Sayaka when they were still on friendly terms. In video games, a party was a group of characters that worked together, sharing items and experience to level together and complete the game. The [Magical Quintet] as Mami had named them so many timelines ago could be considered a party in video games.

"Wait just a moment, heroes." The king interrupted, just as all the heroes were getting ready to leave together. "The four of you should set out separately to recruit your own companions."

"Why is that?" Itsuki asked.

"According to the legends," the king began to explain, "the legendary weapons you possess will interfere with one another should you form a party. Both your weapons and yourselves can only grow when you are apart from one another."

"So, if we stay together, we will not level up?" Homura decided to ask for an explanation. In response to her question, a window like the status magic filled her vision, from the sounds the other three made, they received the same notification.

**{Attention: The Legendary Armaments and their owners will experience adverse effects if they fight together.**

**Caution: it is preferable that the heroes remain separated when possible.}**

Homura gained a small look of confusion on her face. The way the message was worded and timed, was almost as if…the weapons were sentient. Looking over the message she noticed off to the side, while the original shield icon was a bit larger, a few smaller circles had appeared over it, at the top was one with a question mark, it was brighter than all the others, and next to it was a yellow exclamation point inside of a triangle. She had seen similar things while on the internet doing research on guns and how to make explosives. It was normally a [Help Menu] of some kind. That would help figure more things out about the world she found herself in.

"I guess it's true then," Motoyasu muttered. "So you think we should try to form our own parties?" Ren asked,

"I will attempt to secure travel companions for you all. Regardless, evening draws near. Heroes, you should rest for the night and prepare for departure on the morrow. In the meantime, I will find companions from the village below." The king explained in response to Ren's question. All the heroes chimed in some words of thanks.

S-*-*-*-H

The four heroes were led to a bed chamber from the throne room by a maid. Before any of the heroes could make a comment about how inappropriate it was, the maid turned and bowed to Homura. "This bed chamber is where Lord Amaki, Lord Kitamura and Lord Kawasumi will be sleeping. We servants ask you, Lady Akemi, to please rest here with the other heroes until dinner while we prepare a separate bed chamber for you."

Homura looked slightly uncomfortable at the subservience being shown to her but knew that it was something she would likely have to get used to being a [Holy Hero]. "That is fine for now. I trust my fellow heroes to be respectful until then." She gave a sharp look to the three boys she was summoned with, each of them flinched slightly and appeared to start sweating. While they were not planning to be anything other than gentlemen to the only female in their little group, the young girl's glare was top notch and well-practiced.

The maid bowed a bit deeper, "Thank you for understanding, Lady Akemi. I shall come to you after dinner to escort you to your bed chamber. If the Lords would like, I can ask another servant to escort you back here?" the maid asked the others after standing back up. "Uh, yeah, that'd be great. Thanks." Motoyasu answered her, still working to regain himself from Homura's rather effective glare.

Bowing once more, this time to all the heroes, the maid turned and left, leaving the four to enter the room. All of them gave various expressions of shock at the ornate room and extravagant decorations, while each of them moved to sit on a separate bed. They each began to inspect their weapons before reading over various parts of the [Status Menu]. Homura was glad to see her hunch of there being a [Help Menu] was correct.

According to what she was reading, the [Legendary Armaments] required no maintenance at all, similar to the magical weapons she was familiar with. The material of the weapons would also react and adapt to the level of the hero. There was also a feature of the weapons that was apparently called the [Weapon Book], a screen like her [Status] that kept a list of all of the unlocked forms that were available for the weapon to transform into. The [Help Menu] opened up while she was looking at her [Weapon Book], wondering how to unlock the seemingly endless amount of forms.

**{ Weapon Book:**

**A compendium of forms unlocked by the user for [Weapon Transformation]. New forms are unlocked through [Absorption] and [Weapon Copy]. }**

' _[Weapon Transformation]? [Absorption]? [Weapon Copy]?'_ Homura thought to herself. As she focused on these highlighted words, new windows expanded from each of the words, the original window still open.

**{ Weapon Transformation:**

**Weapons can transform into different forms that grant new equipment bonuses including stats, skills, and abilities. Additionally, with enough experience or prerequisites, the user may permanently retain the equip bonuses even if they switch transformations.**

**Note: some bonuses remain exclusive to a specific form. }**

**{ Absorption:**

**Weapons can absorb loot such as items and materials to unlock new variations of the [Legendary Armament] and may equip said variations if they meet the prerequisites. These prerequisites are typically previous variations unlocked or a specific level or skill requirement. Absorbed loot is not consumed and is put into [Storage] for later use by the user, even if used to unlock a new variation. }**

**{ Weapon Copy:**

**The user can copy weapons of a similar class to the [Legendary Armament] that they encounter and store them for later access in the [Weapon Book]. Equip bonuses may still require materials to unlock. }**

Homura quickly processed the information before zoning in on a word that made her heart speed up slightly. _'[Storage]?Is that like…my shield's power?'_ With a bit of hesitancy, she pulled up the information window for [Storage].

**{ Storage:**

**An interface available to the user through the [Legendary Armament]. Items placed in front of the weapons jewel and willed into being absorbed will be placed into an internal pocket dimension. While there is no limit on the actual internal storage, the [Legendary Armament] is only capable of absorbing or dispensing a maximum of one cubic meter at a time. If an item placed into storage has a corresponding weapon variation, it will be unlocked if prerequisites are met. The item will not be destroyed. }**

Biting her lip slightly, she realized it was almost identical to her previous shield, but apparently now having an interface available through her [Status]. Being struck by an idea, she decided it was worth trying out, but the only thing she had on her that could work was…Madoka's ribbon. Hesitantly reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the ribbon, still damp with rainwater. Narrowing her eyes slightly, she contemplated if it was worth the risk. Taking a steadying breath, she decided to trust her shield, after all, it worked for her before, she had no reason to doubt that it would fail here in a world of magic.

Holding the red ribbon in front of the green jewel, she willed it to be absorbed. The jewel began to glow with a bright green light, before the ribbon seemed to dissolve and be drawn into her shield.

**{ Ribbon Shield conditions met. }**

**{ Companion Shield I conditions met. }**

Homura's eyes widened slightly, "Ah!"a small startled sound came from her lips, surprised that a shield was apparently unlocked from a simple ribbon as well as not expecting a pop up suddenly. Glancing down at the now blinking [Weapon Book] icon, she focused on it, and a new window popped up.

**{ Ribbon Shield**

**-Abilities Locked- Equip Bonus: Defense +3, skill "Bind" }**

**{ Companion Shield I**

**-Abilities Locked- Equip Bonus: Companion Growth Up (small) }**

Homura stared at the two windows that popped up curiously. The information made some kind of sense even if she had never played video games before. The only thing she was unsure on was what 'Companion Growth Up (small)' was.

"Hey! Little Homura! Did you just unlock a new shield?!" Motoyasu exclaimed, jolting out of bed and startling Homura out of her focus. When she started paying attention to the three other heroes, she saw that all of them were staring at her in surprise.

"Ah? I...suppose?" Homura muttered in answer. "How did you unlock a new shield already?" Ren questioned her. "Can you show it to us?" Itsuki followed up.

Homura looked between all of them, unsure on how exactly to change to either of the new shields. So as she's quickly learning to do, she checked through her [Help Menu], and found her answer fairly quickly.

**{ Changing the Weapon and Unlocking [Abilities]**

**Changing the weapon refers to changing the form of your currently equipped [Legendary Armament]. If you hold your hand over the weapon and think of the name of the weapon you wish it to become, the weapon will change into the desired form.**

**[Abilities] can be unlocked by simply using the equipped weapon a certain amount. Once unlocked, the equip bonus will be applied to the owner at all times.**

**[Equip Bonuses]**

**[Equip Bonuses] are imbued abilities that can be used while a certain weapon is equipped. So if a weapon has the [Air Strike Bash] ability, that ability can be used as long as that weapon is equipped. If a weapon has an equip bonus of "attack +3," the user's attack stat will increase by 3 while the weapon is equipped. }**

Making the required gesture, Homura changed her shield into the Ribbon Shield. With a small sound of rushing wind and a flash of light, her previous pentagon shaped Small Shield changed into a pink raindrop shaped, the tip of the drop point towards her elbow. The edge of the shield was wrapped in a material that looked like brass or gold. The entire shield was wrapped in several different swaths of different width ribbons, the same shade of red as the ribbon that formed it. The entire shield reminded her of Madoka.

"It says it's called the 'Ribbon Shield,' I unlocked it by letting the shield absorb the ribbon given to me by my...best friend." Homura muttered, answering the previous questions that she was asked.

"A ribbon?" Ren asked. "That's strange. I don't remember there being any weapon like that in _Brave Star Online_."

" _Brave Star Online_? Don't you mean _Emerald Online_ , Ren?" Motoyasu interjected.

"You're both wrong, this world is obviously _Dimension Wave_." Itsuki cut in as well before Ren could answer. Homura narrowed her eyes slightly in confusion as she looked between all three of them as they started arguing. From the gist of their words, she was able to figure out that they were talking about what game this world was, and from how they were disagreeing on many other things, such as other popular games, she was able to figure something else out.

"Maybe all three of you are correct." Homura cut off all of their arguing. They all stopped and looked at her, blinking as if they had forgotten she was here. Homura scowled at them in her frustration. She was yanked away from her mission of saving Madoka, into a world that worked like a _video game_ , and all three of her supposed _senpai_ were acting like children. I reminded her painfully of Sayaka and Kyoko. She quickly crushed those feelings under her heel like always and swept them under the rug.

"What do you mean by that little Homura?" Motoyasu questioned her, giving her what he must've thought was a charming smile. Homura scowled a bit more at the nickname she didn't see going away anytime soon.

"It's simple Kitamura-senpai. I might not know much about video games, but I do consider myself an avid reader." _'Or I used to, when I was stuck in the hospital.'_ she thought to herself, "If all of us are from a different variation of Earth, maybe even from different times, that would explain the different titles for your games. As well as why nothing else matches up." She continued to explain.

Itsuki and Motoyasu nodded at her very possible explanation. After all, they already could confirm multiple worlds exist, they only had to look around to verify that. Ren though, crossed his arms and gave her a questioning look.

"If that's the case, then why do you have a weapon that none of us know about? And on that note, does that shield have any skills or anything useful like that?" he asked her.

"I can not speak for your worlds," Homura began, looking towards Ren. "But in my world, we do not have the technology to simulate an entire world like this. Maybe the games were based on this world, possibly even made by a past hero that returned to your world. If that is the case then maybe the maker did not know it existed. Or if we go with the idea that the games in your worlds were placed there somehow by this world, then it is possible that it and many other things were not included in the game due to technological limitations. As for skills…"

Homura looked at the window for the Ribbon Shield. It said it had the skill [Bind]. As she looked at it and thought about using it, the knowledge kind of just unfolded in her mind. It reminded her of when she first became a magical girl, and the basics of her powers were just there in her mind. So she raised her shield arm up and pointed at Motoyasu. Before he could react she uttered the command just loud enough to be heard.

"[Bind]."

Three purple rings appeared around the Spear Hero before quickly shrinking into him. As they did, they pulled his arms against his torso and his legs together.

"Wah!" he exclaimed, struggling to stay standing before falling straight on to his face. Homura smirked slightly down at him, before noticing that the skill name in her [Weapon Book] had grayed out, just like her [Time Manipulation] had, but this time it was missing the /sealed/ notation.

"Huh." Ren made a small sound, smirking slightly down at Motoyasu rolling back and forth on the floor like an idiot. 30 seconds after she cast the skill, a soft sound similar to something breaking rang out in the room before he jolted up from the ground, glaring a bit playfully at the smirking magical girl.

"Har har har, looks like we got a young jokester here boys." Motoyasu said to Ren and Itsuki, gesturing towards Homura.

Chuckling softly, Itsuki made a shrugging motion. "Eh, Ren did ask her if she gained a skill. Plus I think you were kind of asking for it, calling her 'Little Homura' all the time. Besides, a restraint skill at level 1 that lasts for 30 seconds? That would be useful for any of us, but more so for the Shielder."

Ren nodded, looking down at her shield thoughtfully with a small frown. "While I don't enjoy the thought of using something so 'girly', I can't deny it would be a very useful skill. And what she said about limited processing power restricting the game would make sense."

Seeing the other two nodding, Homura bit her lip softly in thought. She glanced down towards her [Status Menu] and seeing an icon that looked like an open treasure chest was glowing. Opening it, she saw the words [Item Menu] up at the top. The only item shown was lit up white, had a simple drawing of a ribbon to the side and the name "Madoka's Ribbon". She curiously tried to open it, when she did a new window popped up, and in the background she noticed the item in the menu dim to a light gray, and the treasure chest icon close and dim to match the others. She guessed a new item would be lit up, letting her know it was new to her shield at a glance.

**{ Madoka's Ribbon: quality: fair, a ribbon from a magical girl, given to her best friend.**

**Equip Bonus: Magic Defense Up (small)**

**Dispense? [Yes] / [No] }**

She knew from her [Help Menu] that she should be able to pull out items from her shield, even if they were used to unlock a new shield. Selecting the [Yes] button, the jewel on her shield let out the same soft green light that it had when it absorbed the ribbon before the same ribbon seemed to fall out of the jewel, Homura making sure to quickly catch it.

"Wait a second! Homura, that's the same ribbon you just absorbed? How was it not consumed?!" Motoyasu exclaimed, pointing at her and the ribbon in shock. Homura looked at him confused.

"What do you mean Kitamura-senpai? My [Help Menu] said that absorbed items are not consumed even if they unlock a new shield." Motoyasu blinked in surprise before he seemed to space out, apparently going through his own menu, the other two apparently doing the same thing.

"Ah!" Motoyasu made a sound of surprise, jerking slightly. "The menu just glitched but now it's saying the same thing little Homura just said!"

"What do you mean? My menu doesn't say that at all!" Ren scowled at Motoyasu, wanting to call him a liar. Itsuki nodded in agreement.

"Well at first, mine didn't say that." Motoyasu began to explain, "but then I thought _'I just saw little Homura pull out the same ribbon she just used. She has no reason to lie to us. I believe in little Homura.'_ Then all of a sudden, like I said, my menu seemed to glitch out for a moment before it was added and a notification flag popped up next to my help icon. So I think you have to believe it first."

Homura flicked her eyes between the Spear and Sword Heroes, wondering if they really did have different information in their menus and if it was influenced by something as simple as belief. Itsuki made a soft sound of surprise before Ren gave a sigh and looked again, jerking slightly for a moment before glaring at the menu in front of him. Apparently it was true.

"So not only is there more weapons in this world than the games we know, but now our [Help Menus] are apparently incomplete too?" Ren scowled. "Now I feel like I'm coming out of a beta period and the devs have changed everything because they're assholes. I think Homura's gonna have the easiest time because she doesn't have to relearn everything." Homura tilted her head to the side in confusion, not quite getting what he was talking about, even though Motoyasu and Itsuki were nodding along, eyes closed and arms crossed with serious looks on their faces.

"Well," Homura began, glancing down at her ribbon, internally glad that she just confirmed she'll be able to get it back from her plan. She knew Madoka would support it, and she knew from many repeated timelines building rapport with her fellow heroes was going to be important. Now hopefully it would go more smoothly than with Mami Tomoe and Sayaka Miki had with the last several dozen timelines. "As long as I get this back, I do not mind letting each of you unlock the weapon. We are all going to need to work together if we want to save the world, if the king is to be believed." She stated, hesitantly holding the ribbon out to Motoyasu.

The Spear Hero blinked down at Homura in surprise before smiling at her, taking the offered ribbon and holding it up to his spear. Once it was absorbed into his spear, he changed it into a relatively simple looking spear that was wrapped up in a similar red toned ribbon with a long strand hanging from the bow tied below the blade. As he went to dispense the ribbon to give it back to the Shield Hero, he blinked in surprise with a dumbfounded look.

"'A ribbon from a magical girl?' What is this, an anime?" Looking at Homura in confusion, he looked even more confused when he saw her looking to the side with a soft blush on her cheeks. Dispensing the ribbon and offering it to a very confused Itsuki, he continued to look at Homura intently. "Little Homura...are you a chuunibyou?"

Blushing a bit harder, Homura turned to glare at him. "No. Back in my world, me and my friends were legitimate Magical Girls, fighting Witches to protect the normal people."

Motoyasu blinked before busting out in laughter, Itsuki chuckling as he unlocked the Ribbon Bow, laughing a bit harder at seeing the description on the ribbon that prompted Motoyasu's question. "So Homura's a chuuni? Who'd have thought that 'cool, serious' Homura was chuuni." Itsuki chimed in, passing the ribbon to Ren.

Homura turned to glare at Itsuki, "We are in a world that works like a video game, and that is more believable than 'magical girls are real and I am one of them?'" she bit out.

As his laughter started to ease, Motoyasu smirked at her, "That's like saying VRMMO's are real, but everyone knows that those are only possible in SciFi anime." He chimed back. Ren then pointed his new Ribbon Sword at the Spear Hero.

"What are you talking about? VRMMO's are real and have been around for over a decade now. Almost all games that aren't mobile games are VR games." Now it was his turn to be offended. Motoyasu, Homura and Itsuki all turned to look at him in shock. Ren then blinked in confusion.

"Wait, do you mean to tell me that your worlds don't have VR?" He sounded so shocked. VR must have been a simple fact of life in his world if his shock was so deep rooted. Motoyasu and Itsuki looked back and forth between Homura and Ren.

"...Do your worlds have [Innate Abilities]? Like my [Accuracy] ability? Or something like [Poison Negation] or [Deadly Aim]?" Itsuki asked. The other three heroes looked at him in confusion.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Motoyasu asked.

Itsuki scowled slightly. "About 25 years ago, scientists discovered that a decent amount of people had various abilities, roughly 20% of the population, that make them seem like natural prodigies or sometimes freaks of nature depending on the ability. My [Accuracy] ability ensures that as long as I have a clear line of sight I will always hit my target. [Deadly Aim] is the advanced version of [Accuracy] and guarantees a hit even without a clear line of sight." he explained.

"Most abilities manifest in childhood. Whenever someone develops an ability, they're sent to a special school to train the ability." he continued. "All abilities are given a rank from E to A, and the topmost abilities are given an S ranking, but those are exceptionally rare. Roughly a dozen confirmed S rank ability users exist out of 9 billion people."

All of the heroes looked between each other. "What the hell?" Motoyasu scowled as he crossed his arms with a huff. "Am I the only one from a normal, non anime world? What a rip off. The only remotely anime-esque thing to happen to me was waking up here in this world after getting stabbed by a couple of girls I was dating."

Homura glared slightly at him at hearing him casually admit to dating multiple women. She figured they found out about each other and then turned on him. While she felt that killing him was excessive, he brought it upon himself. Itsuki scowled at him as well. "Well if you were cheating on them, then it's only right that you received Justice."

Motoyasu turned and scowled at him. "Oh really? And can I ask what led to you waking up here? I'm going to guess you died too?"

Itsuki shrugged in response, still scowling at him. "I would believe it's possible. The last thing I remember was crossing the road on my way home from prep school when a dump truck came around the corner at full speed. Next thing I knew I was waking up on the altar with you three." Turning to look at the Sword Hero, he asked, "What about you Ren? What happened to you?"

Looking between Motoyasu and Itsuki, Ren decided to humor him. "I got caught up in a murder case on my way home from school. It was the talk of the town at the time. I was with a good friend of mine. I remember a guy jumping out at him. I pushed my friend out of the way and got stabbed instead. I managed to knock him out with my bokken from kendo practice. The last thing I remember was the criminal getting arrested and everything going dark." He explained, rubbing his side softly as he spoke.

They all turned to Homura after his explanation. "What about our resident magical girl?" Motoyasu chuckled out. Homura just glared at him, trying to decide how much to explain to them. The Spear Hero obviously doubted her story about being a magical girl.

"There was a giant Witch, called Walpurgisnacht, that had begun to attack my city. To the normal people, she appeared like a supercell storm that developed almost out of nowhere. My other friends had all died in the last few weeks before this happened. I was the last magical girl in the area, and decided to at least try and stop her. My best friend showed up not long after I had been thrown into a building. That was when she gave me her ribbon before making a contract with the entity that created us magical girls. She managed to kill Walpurgisnacht at the cost of her own life. I was dying myself from my own fight with the Witch. That was when I was summoned here with you three." Homura explained. All three of them looked at her in pity. Even if she was a chuunibyou, they could believe she watched her best friend die, and she was being delusional on how it had happened to protect herself.

Before they could continue on with their conversation, there was a knock on the door. Homura went to open the door, it was the same maid from earlier.

"Good evening Lady Akemi. I have been sent to retrieve you and the other heroes and escort you all to the dining hall. Following dinner, I will show you to the bed chamber that has been prepared for you." Homura nodded. Dinner and sleep sounded good. While she wished she had more time to grill the heroes about their games for more information, she knew she could do so at a later date, maybe even as early as tomorrow. She made sure to retrieve Madoka's Ribbon back from Ren on their way to the dining hall. Tomorrow would be the start of her second quest, one she unfortunately had to complete in order to be able to even return to save Madoka.


	2. Companion?

** Chapter 2 –  **

_ Companion? _

Homura woke early the next morning as dawn’s light filtered into the bed chambers she was taken to last night after the feast for the successful summoning of the four heroes. Sitting up slowly from the incredibly soft bed she looked down at the silk like purple nightgown she had been given by the maid last night. She softly ran her hands over the soft and smooth fabric. Before becoming a magical girl, even while going in and out of hospitals, she was used to living a comfortable life. Her family, while not wealthy, was pretty well off. Well off enough that they could afford her hospital bills, which said enough she guessed once she thought about it. But the treatment that she’d received here as a [Holy Hero] has been beyond anything she’s ever experienced before.

Standing and sliding out of bed, she let herself go through some of her usual routines. Stretching and doing a few basic combat exercises that Mami taught her what felt like so long ago to get her body loosened and limbered up. She knew that her and her fellow heroes were supposed to set out on their journeys to get stronger and develop their [Legendary Armaments] to actually be able to save the world. What that entailed exactly, she didn’t know. The other three seemed to have a better idea than she did with the games that they played that seemed to have been at least based on this world.

Thinking that gave her a solid starting point for the day. She had spent a good bit of time asking the king some questions about the world they had been summoned in, getting an idea of the region and some of the general politics.

The country they had been summoned to was called Melromarc, and the nearest major countries that bordered them were Faubley, Zeltoble, Siltvelt and Shieldfreeden. Faubley was a world superpower and the place the queen currently was on a diplomatic envoy with leaders of several other countries to discuss the Waves. Zeltoble was a mercenary country that was known as an economic hub, where it was said that a country’s worth of gold flowed every day. Siltvelt and Shieldfreeden were similar countries with different cultures, but they were both countries of what she was told were called demi-humans. Demi-humans were people that had animal features, which immediately brought to mind pictures of cat girls to Homura’s mind but could also cover people that were more animals than human. Melromarc had also relatively recently resolved a war with Siltvelt roughly two decades ago, where the King had established himself as a Hero of Magic and Warfare, the Wise Sage King.

Turning to frown at her neatly folded [Magical Girl Clothing], Homura made a few considerations. At first it had felt weird physically removing those clothes. She had never even considered doing it, it was always just transforming in or out of them as needed. When she had been summoned here, they had apparently somehow been converted into permanent clothes, probably by the world. The problem was just how much they stood out here in this medieval fantasy style world, and she didn’t care to stand out personally, and as a Hero she figured it would be inevitable. But she figured she could at least stand out in a way that wouldn’t seem strange to the citizens that called this place home.

Poking her head out of the door, making sure to keep the majority of her body hidden lest someone see her in just a nightgown. As she glanced back and forth, she saw the same maid from last night walking her way. Her brown hair was in a single long French band that went to her waist, her face and body shape were what Homura would call average. Homura figured she was here presumably to see to her as she saw the maid speed up at seeing Homura looking around from behind the door.

“Good morning Lady Akemi. I did not expect to see you awake this early, as I was just on my way to wake you for a bath before the other Heroes awoke.” The maid greeted Homura with a fluid bow. Homura smiled at her softly for her consideration.

“Thank you for that. I was actually hoping to catch you, though I did not expect it to happen this quickly.” Homura replied. As the maid straightened back up, Homura tilted her head slightly to the side in thought. “Forgive me, I have just realized that I have not asked for your name.” Homura pointed out.

“You honor me Lady Akemi. My name is Amelia, and the Wise King was kind enough to grant my request to attend to you for while you are here in the castle.” Amelia answered the unasked questions with another smaller bow. Offering her a fluffy, folded bundle that she had been carrying in her arms, Homura took it, letting it unfold to reveal itself to be a bathrobe of some sort. “If you would be kind enough to put that on Lady Akemi, I would be more than glad to show you the bath house for the morning and take your clothes from last night to be washed.”

Giving her a nod, Homura put on the provided robe and slippers. The shield made it a bit awkward, since she was unable to completely remove it, she did learn that she could place it on other places on her body. Thankfully, it didn’t have a physical strap, holding itself wherever she placed it with magic.

It turns out that she was not that far from the bathhouse, which was similar to Roman style bath houses she had seen in books in her world. Amelia led her towards the changing rooms, taking the nightgown from Homura so that it could be washed and returned. Before she could leave to do that though, Homura stopped her.

“Before you go Miss Amelia, would it be possible to ask for some new clothes? For my fellow heroes as well? I figure that if we are to meet our future companions today, it would be better if we did it in clothes that fit this world better. It does not have to be something extravagant, as it is probable that they’ll replace them later today with armor or such, or if not today fairly soon.” Homura explained. Amelia looked thoughtful before nodding.

“That should be an easily acceptable request Lady Akemi. I will see to it that the servant assigned to the other heroes delivers some clothes upon your request. And please, you are a Hero, there’s no need to call me Miss, simply Amelia is enough for this lowly maid.” Amelia answered. 

Homura gave her a soft smile, “Thank you Amelia. Will you return soon?”

Amelia nodded, “I will return within a few minutes after I drop these off to be laundered, and I have acquired suitable clothing for you. I will leave them waiting in the changing room for you, and I will wait outside in case someone else comes, as to keep you from being disturbed.”

Bowing deeply one more time, holding Homura’s nightgown to her chest, Amelia turned and left, her braided brown hair whipping and trailing behind her. Homura watched after her, glad to have met someone with apparently such a kind heart, even if she was only acting that way because she was the [Shield Hero] and not because she was Homura Akemi. It was a nice change of pace from always being seen as the villain by her old friends.

After scrubbing and rinsing off the dirt that had built up from her crash landing on the altar yesterday, the not really there but the feeling of grime from fighting Walpurgisnacht, and the definitely there dried sweat from both sleeping and her morning routine, Homura settled into the bath to soak and let herself relax a bit.

Taking a deep breath, Homura allowed herself a moment to center and calm herself. To think over her situation. _‘So, I have managed to somehow end up in another world. As a Hero. What a joke, I am not Sayaka Miki. Why would I want to be a_ Hero _?’_ Homura sneered to herself before giving out another sigh, forcing herself to relax, not wanting to get worked up again. _‘And according to the legends, and apparently left-over records from past heroes, I will be unable to return to my world and save Madoka until this world has been saved. To do that, I am going to have to work with at least three other heroes. These other heroes are nothing more than pretty boy otakus that want to treat this like it’s a_ video game _.’_

Homura gave out another sigh. Taking several more deep breaths to calm herself back down. _‘From the looks of how they were acting and holding their weapons, I doubt they have any_ actual _combat experience. Their knowledge probably begins and ends with “The pointy end goes into the flesh”.’_ Homura mocked out in Kyoko’s voice in her head. _‘Though I cannot deny that they possibly have information that I can only dream about if their games are even halfway reliable.’_

Rubbing her eyes tiredly, she thought back to the previous night, when she was talking with the three heroes before the feast. Motoyasu was a bit of a prick, always calling her “Little Homura”, and then making fun of her when she decided to be truthful and admit to being a magical girl. She was trying to be honest and build a good working relationship with the other three. A gut feeling of her’s was telling her it was absolutely necessary if she wanted to save Madoka.

With a small flash, she changed her default shield back into the Ribbon Shield. She looked over it intently, a feeling of both intense sadness and longing filling her being. This shield, it reminded her so much of Madoka that it hurt. But it also would serve as a constant reminder of her goal. She knew deep in her heart that Madoka would not want her to fight with her fellow heroes, and that if there was a way she could help out then she would more than gladly do so. It was why she decided to share her ribbon with the others. Even if it was only a few status points and a new skill. It would help, and so help Madoka did.

A soft chime startled Homura out of reverie. She had noticed she was being a lot more emotional than she had been the last several timelines. It was hard to put into words, but it was like everything kept startling her. Like she had become so used to the _sameness_ of repeating the same six weeks for so long, that it was why Sayaka would call her “emotionally dead”, because she would watch the same things happen over and over again. It was the same feeling as “this episode _again_?” While a part of her, the _Soldier_ , was annoyed at the new reemerging emotions, another part, _Madoka’s Best Friend_ , was happy about it.

It proved she wasn’t emotionally dead like Sayaka called her. It proved she still had something to give Madoka after she saved her if Madoka would accept it. But it was so annoying to have to deal with her annoying _senpai_.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts once again, she noticed her [Weapon Book] icon was illuminated. Raising an eyebrow, she opened it and noticed that the flag for her Ribbon Shield was glowing. Opening that window up, she looked it over to see if anything was different.

**{ Ribbon Shield**

**-Abilities Unlocked- Equip Bonus: Defense +3, skill “Bind” }**

It took her a moment to realize that she had apparently unlocked the abilities on the shield. Remembering back to what she read last night, did that mean that she now permanently has the bonuses from that shield? Deciding to test it out, she opened her [Status Menu] and looked over her stats. Keeping an eye on them, she changed from her Ribbon Shield back to her starting Small Shield and noticed that her defense start hadn’t dropped at all like it did when she first tried the same thing last night.

“So I do not have to actually use my shield in combat to unlock the abilities, I just have to have them equipped for so long.” Homura muttered to herself. “Though I think higher rank and quality shields might have a longer time requirement. That would make sense.”

Sighing to herself one more time, she decided that she’d been soaking more than long enough and didn’t want to leave Amelia waiting too much longer for her. So she stood, letting the hot soothing water run off of her before heading back to the changing room. Homura let out a shiver when the significantly cooler air hit her bare flesh, her eyes zeroing in on a dry fluffy towel next to a neatly folded pile of clothes on a rack. Battle hardened she might consider herself, but a warm fluffy towel is enough to excite anybody.

After thoroughly drying herself, her long hair that she always held with pride especially well, Homura turned her attention to the pile of clothes. Wrapping the towel around herself tightly, she proceeded to sort through the clothes that Amelia had picked out. All of the clothes, while lacking in any sort of ornate decoration, mostly single colored pieces of cloth, the cloth itself was not lacking in quality in comparison to the silk nightgown. Almost like a weird combination of the texture and feel of fine wool with the weight and heft of leather. Clothes that would hold up well to moderate combat.

The clothes themselves consisted of a pair of black stockings, a moderate length purple skirt that looked like it would go to just past her knees and shaped like a flower of some kind, an orchid or a lily she thought, a white long sleeve shirt and a white fur lined cloak that was colored a slightly deeper shade of purple than the almost orchid colored skirt. To complete the entire outfit was a pair of black leather boots that went about halfway up her calf with a simple 3 cm heel. Overall, Homura could tell that the entire outfit was based off of her previous set of clothes, but they definitely felt much more natural to this world. On top of the fact they were of far higher quality than the clothes she was summoned in.

Coming to the decision that the clothes were more than adequate, she got dressed quickly to keep Amelia from waiting too much longer. Then she remembered Madoka’s ribbon and that it apparently was an equippable item. While she didn’t think it would look as good on her as it did her best friend, she pulled the ribbon out of her shield. Looking at it with an almost longing expression for a moment, she decided to tie it around the top of her head like a hairband, tying it into a bow on the side of her head. As she stepped out of the changing room, clasping the cloak into place, she was amazed at how…heroic, she felt. Not that she would _ever_ admit aloud, especially to _Sayaka_. She would never admit that there _might_ be something to Sayaka’s _stupid_ knight in shining armor fantasy.

“Lady Akemi, I’m glad to see that the clothes I picked fit you so well. Did you enjoy your bath?” Amelia greeted her with a bow as she came into view. Homura fought the urge to flinch at the overly formal treatment, just because she understood why she was being treated that way doesn’t mean she had to enjoy it. 

“It was very nice, especially with the knowledge it might be my last one of that quality for a while if I am to be setting out on an adventure tonight.” Homura answered her. Amelia straightened up at the response and gave her a smile. It was almost like Homura’s acknowledgment had made her day. Did her opinion really matter that much to the maid? It only served to make Homura even more uncomfortable though she did her best to keep it from showing. 

“I understand. Is there anything you would like to do before the King calls for you heroes? As I understand it, the Lords are currently bathing themselves in a separate bath house, and the King does not plan to call for all the heroes until approximately 10 AM. That leaves roughly three hours if you wish to be in place well beforehand.” The maid informed the Shield Hero.

Looking at her thoughtfully, one question came to Homura’s mind, “Is there a library?”

P-*-*-*-H

A couple of hours later, Homura was walking down a hallway, following the clear and simple directions given to her by Amelia. All of her actual focus was upon the small book in her hand and the chart she was holding to the book with her thumb. Muttering to herself she slowly worked her way through learning the alphabet of the world she found herself in along with some simple words.

When she first arrived at the library, a small part of her had been ecstatic at the sheer amount of books that she seemingly had at her disposal. But she realized an error in her plans when she picked up and opened her first book and noticed that she couldn’t read the language.

Once she had processed that, she thought it made sense. After all, it wasn’t uncommon for different countries in her world to have different languages, why would it be any different in another world? But that bought up the question of how was she able to converse with the people here. After having that thought, a notification flag, as Motoyasu had called it, popped up next to her [Help Menu]. Navigating her way to the illuminated option, she opened the window to find out what her shield was telling her.

**{ Universal Translation (Human):**

**[Legendary Armaments] act as a translator for their Users with any human based language. This includes translating the Users words for others and others’ words for the user. Only languages made by human and human-like species will be translated. Monster languages, if forming a coherent language, must be learned by the User and therefore will not be translated. }**

_‘Convenient,’_ Homura had thought at the time. But she was quick enough to realize that it would be a lot more difficult navigating this world if she couldn’t read at least the language of the country she was summoned in.

“Amelia,” she asked, getting the attention of the maid. 

“Yes, Lady Akemi?”

“Pardon me if I come across as rude, but are you literate?” Homura asked.

Tilting her head slightly to the side, Amelia looked at her thoughtfully. “I don’t find the question rude. I am not nearly as literate as a noble, but I do know the basics of reading and writing. It helps in my duties as a servant. Why do you ask?”

Letting out a soft sigh, Homura gestured to the book in her hand. “It appears in my haste to read that I did not consider that I do not actually know any languages of this world. It is only by the power of my shield we can converse as it is.”

Letting out a small gasp, Amelia bowed and spoke quickly, almost seeming excited to Homura. “I would be honored to teach you what I can. Though you will need to find someone far more literate than I to learn [Magic Script] if you plan to go that far in your studies.”

“[Magic script]?” Homura asked, making her way towards a table in the library. Amelia followed dutifully, grabbing some paper, a quill and inkwell as she did. 

“Yes, Lady Akemi. Spells and magic in this world are normally learned in one of two ways, by breaking a crystal ball and inhaling the powder, or by reading a grimoire. The prior method is much faster and easier, but from what I’ve heard, tends to result in a weaker spell. By reading a grimoire, one’s understanding of the spell is much more complete, resulting in stronger magic. The downside is that grimoires are written in [Magic Script], which changes based on the person reading it. If the reader’s understanding is either lacking or incompatible, then the entire book just seems a jumbled around mess.” Amelia explained.

Making a sound of understanding, Homura nodded, at the same time hearing the sound she was starting to associate with a [Status Update], in this case her [Help Menu] updating with the new information. “I understand. I will keep that in mind and look to learning [Magic Script] once I have a better understanding of your language.”

After that Homura spent the next couple of hours being taught how to read and pronounce Melromarc’s alphabet.

“Well would you look at that Ren? Little Homura’s reading a book. Totally seemed the type to spend her free time in the library!” Homura heard a loud exclamation from in front of her. She had apparently reached her destination. Without looking up from her book, she kept walking until she was in the perfect position.

“Guh! GAH!”

Then lashed out with a form perfect side kick, hitting Motoyasu dead center of his solar plexus with her heel, kicking him into the wall. A dull sound like something breaking or glancing off of something else rang out.

Gasping as he fell on to his hands and knees, he struggled to catch his breath.

“Wait a minute…” he managed to gasp out, “That didn’t hurt?”

Clicking her teeth softly, she lowered her leg back down to the floor with the grace of long practice, almost as if she did not just kick her senpai into the wall. “Guess that’s what an ATK of 1 means.” she muttered to herself, casually flipping her hand through her hair, though Ren and Motoyasu heard her. Closing her book, using the character sheet Amelia made for her as a bookmark, she turned to look at Motoyasu. Putting her hands on her hips she leant forward slightly to glare down at him.

“I would appreciate it, Kitamura-senpai, if you would refrain from calling me ‘Little’ Homura.” she spoke clearly, making her point clear.

“Heh.” Motoyasu made a small laughing sound as he stood up and smirked at her, like a playful older brother. “Not gonna happen little Homura. You’re so much younger than me, not to mention smaller and so cute, so little Homura is little Homura.”

Glaring a bit more intently at him only made him laugh more. 

“Uh, excuse me Homura, but did you just say an ATK of 1?” Ren decided to cut in. Turning to look at him. Homura took a moment to look over the clothes that were picked out for him. 

Ren was now dressed in a pair of light gray pants, a white undershirt under a black pullover with gold fabric lining the edges, instead of a full cloak like what she had he was wearing a simple blue cape, and a pair of black leather boots similar to hers finished the outfit off. The fabric also seemed to be the same heavy heft wool as hers. Overall, it was a decent bit of simple if nice quality clothing.

“Yes Amaki-senpai. According to my stats, I have an ATK of 1 but an STR of 30. So while it appears that I can push Kitamura-senpai around all I want, I am unable to actually harm him.” Homura explained.

“That’s...interesting.” Ren muttered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “I can see that becoming an issue though. Having your entire damage reduced to essentially nothing…”

“Well...I’m only a bit surprised Ren. She IS a shielder after all. Even if she is cute little Homura.” Motoyasu interjected.

Turning to look at him, she finally took the moment to look his clothes over as well. He was wearing black pants, a loose fitting black long sleeve top with a red sleeveless tunic over the top, a cape the same shade of red as his tunic, and the same black boots. Overall, she felt it gave him a fitting “heroic” vibe. “You mentioned something like that last night as well. What do you mean exactly by ‘Shielder’, Kitamura-senpai?”

Before Motoyasu or Ren could answer, Itsuki came running around the corner. Looking him over, she saw him wearing much more earthy tones: brown pants, light green shirt, brown vest and hooded cloak, and finished off by a pair of brown boots instead of black. “Sorry I’m late. It took me a while to get everything situated.” He explained, panting softly from his run.

“It’s fine Itsuki. We were just about to explain to Homura about the Shielder class.” Motoyasu explained.

“Oh? That’s simple then, the Shielder class is useless and Homura should just give up now.” Itsuki responded simply. 

Homura turned and glared at him angrily, clenching her first tightly. She did _not_ want to admit that he hit several major issues with what might as well have been a sledgehammer. “And what do you mean by that Kawasumi-senpai?”

“The Shielder class was an unpopular and dead class in _Dimension Wave._ It couldn’t do anything besides defend which made it useless for fighting monsters and the few people that would stick with it past the early game would always find their defense lacking to be able to stop attacks from pretty much anything.” He answered, smirking. “Completely unlike the bow, which has such a wide variety of long range and AOE skills that let’s someone just blow through the game like it’s easy mode.”

Taking a deep breath, fighting the urge to throttle the boy that was reminding her so much of everything she couldn’t stand about Sayaka. She turned to look at the other two heroes. “Do you two agree with him?”

“Well, in a way, I guess. In _Emerald Online_ they were planning to remove the Shielder class entirely, because no matter what they did to try and rebalance it, nobody would play it past the first few missions.” Motoyasu answered.

“While not quite as bad, Shielders were almost non-existent in _Brave Star Online_ , but the few we did have would help noticeably in boss battles. But like Itsuki said, for the most part in late game the damage would outpace their defense significantly.” Ren answered as well.

Glaring at each of them in turn, Homura gripped the edge of her shield. Taking a deep breath, she let it out very softly before regarding them all coolly. “Well then,” she started, “I guess I am just going to have to prove what a True Shielder can do.”

The three heroes glanced at each other, before Motoyasu gave Homura another big brother like smile. “Well then, I look forward to little Homura showing us how it’s done.”

Ren and Itsuki turned to look at Motoyasu with raised eyebrows before Ren shrugged and nodded. “If you can make that class more useful, then please do so Homura. I would hate to have to pull your weight as well.”

Itsuki just scoffed and rolled his eyes, obviously doubting that Homura would make any sort of difference.

“Oh yeah, little Homura?” Motoyasu said. “You said you’re not really a gamer last night, right?”

Homura regarded him a bit curiously, crossing her arms as she looked him over. “That is right. While I have played the occasional mobile game a few years ago while I was in and out of the hospital, my only experience with the kind of games you boys were talking about last night was through a couple of my...friends. That considered themselves gamers. I picked up a few things just from them arguing back and forth about random things. Why do you ask?”

Motoyasu nodded as if that made perfect sense, which to him it probably did. He didn’t strike Homura as the kind to play video games, but she guessed it was a case of looks being deceiving. “Well then, in regard to us getting companions today, it’s extra important that you know how to invite them to a party with you!” he exclaimed. “There are a bunch of benefits to being in a party. The biggest is that experience is shared between monsters when one of your party members kills a monster. But there’s also support magic that will make your companions stronger! And a bunch of other awesome, useful things like that.” he continued on with his explanation. He was reminding Homura of a combination of Mami and Madoka from the earlier timelines. Before she was a veteran. Before she learned more than most Magical Girls. When she was last a kohai.

“That sounds...extremely useful.” she responded back to him, a bit put off by his enthusiasm, not quite sure how to deal with it. “How do I go about adding someone to my party?”

“Well it’s super easy in this world.” Motoyasu began to explain. “In your menu, you should have a symbol that looks like two people side by side. That’s your [Party Management] window.” Opening her menu, she saw the menu icon he was talking about seemingly glitch into existence. She narrowed her eyes at it, remembering last night.

“In that menu, you can add, remove, leave and set the options for a party you’re in charge of.” he continued his explanation, unaware of her distracted thoughts. “By selecting the add button, you can send people you focus on a party invite. You’ll know they’ve accepted when they’re status pops up in the upper left under your’s.”

Frowning slightly as she considered his words, she decided to experiment and send him an invite. Smiling wider, he accepted. Homura jerked slightly when suddenly an extra bar appeared under her mini status menu as she had personally been thinking about it. It had a picture of his face, his name, and a green bar that she figured was his health.

“Huh.” she made a small sound. “I can definitely see why this would be useful. Thank you, Kitamura-senpai.”

Giving her a smirk and a thumbs up, Motoyasu replied. “Anytime little Homura! Glad I could help.”

Before the conversation could continue, the king’s attendant stuck his head out from the throne room. Seeing the four heroes waiting, he stepped out completely before giving them a small bow.

“It is time, oh great heroes. The king shall see you now and introduce you to your companions.” He spoke, gesturing us all into the throne room. As he held the door open and the heroes filed in in the same order they had yesterday. “The heroes enter!” the attendant announced as we did.

Looking up towards the king, Homura saw a dozen people arranged below him. Some appeared to be knights, some looked like classical mages, while others looked like stereotypical adventurers. All of the heroes bowed respectfully to the king before standing straight and settling in to listen to his words.

“As we discussed yesterday, I have called for others to assist you in your journey. Apparently, my call did not go unheeded. Now then, gathered adventurer’s, please choose the legendary hero with whom you will travel with.” The king announced.

Homura furrowed her brows at him. _‘They get to choose? But it would be simple enough to just assign three of them a piece to each of us.’_ Homura could only watch in slightly stunned disbelief, her anger and frustration building.

Five people stood before Ren.

Four stood in front of Motoyasu.

Three stood before Itsuki.

Turning her glare up towards the king, she noticed he looked uncomfortable. Almost as if he himself hadn’t expected this. “I did not anticipate anything like this.” Homura heard him mutter.

“She’s not very popular, is she?” his attendant muttered back. Before Homura could question them, a man in robes bent down and whispered into the king’s ear.

“It would appear,” the king began, “that there are rumors about that among the four summoned heroes the shield hero knows the least about this world.”

“Is that a problem, your majesty?” Homura questioned him. This was all reminding her of being the last kid picked for anything in elementary school. It annoyed her, having to deal with such childness from grown adults.

“The legends say that the four heroes are summoned with an understanding of our land. People are wondering if you will truly be able to fulfill the conditions set out in the legends.” the king explained.

“It seems someone was apparently eavesdropping last night, eh little Homura?” Motoyasu interjected.

Homura ground her teeth in frustration. This was all because she hadn’t played some kind of stupid game? A part of her found it strange, more like a convenient excuse than the actual reason. After all, even if that’s what the legends said, she was still summoned as a hero. It would make no sense to restrict one of the people tasked with saving the world…

Motoyasu turned to look at Ren and made a bit of a motion towards Homura. “Hey Ren, you’ve got five followers. Think you could convince one of them to follow little Homura instead?”

Homura watched the five adventurers suddenly huddle behind him, almost as if they were afraid to be sent off with her. Ren meanwhile looked kind of conflicted and scratched the back of his head, perplexed. Letting out a sigh, he glanced towards his party to be. “I’m more of a loner, myself. So if you can’t cut it, I’m leaving you behind.”

He said it a bit firmly, but the people before him just stood straighter, and saluted him. “Understood, Sir Ren!” they all chimed in response.

Motoyasu made a disgruntled face, before looking towards Itsuki, then turning to his own party. “Since Itsuki has a fair amount of three followers, it wouldn’t be fair to ask him.” He began, looking between all four relatively beautiful women gathered with him. He made a bit of a face, almost as if he didn’t want to give one of them up, but really didn’t want to leave Homura alone. “Would any of you lovely ladies be willing to accompany little Homura? If only until she can get some more party members, then I’ll be more than willing to welcome you back with open arms if you’d prefer!”

Homura made a bit of a face herself towards Motoyasu. She’s had very little experience with people like him. She’s barely had experience with people at all, especially since becoming a magical girl. While she appreciated his attempt at helping, it still seemed a bit off. Almost as if he was trying too hard to please everyone.

A moment passed, making the magical girl think that none of them would volunteer, and then a red head with her hair in a ponytail raised her hand. While her hair was nowhere near as long as Kyoko’s, only going to her shoulders while up, it was a very similar shade of red, and she left her bangs out to frame the sides of her face, contrasting well with her bright green eyes. Homura couldn’t help but to think they looked almost venomous, but she couldn’t pinpoint why besides her instincts. As for her clothing, she wore a relatively simple if nice quality purple pencil dress with white shoulder covers, and on top of that she wore simple but again good quality leather armor and boots. Completing the entire adventurer ensemble, she had a simple longsword strapped to her hip. Overall, she looked like a beautiful woman, probably somewhere between 18 and 20 years old.

“Sir Motoyasu, if it pleases you, I could serve with the Shield Hero.” the young woman said.

Giving her a bright smile, Motoyasu gave her a thumbs up. “If you’re sure, then thank you very much! I hope you two get along.”

The king then stood and placed his hands behind his back, looking over everyone gathered. “Are there any others among you that would throw your lot in with Madam Homura?” he questioned.

No one moved a muscle. The king let out a heavy sigh.

“I suppose there is no way around it. Madam Homura, you’ll have to recruit others to accompany you while you are traveling. Each month, I will supply all of you with the necessary funds for your journey, though in compensation for today’s events, Homura’s first payment will be higher than the others.”

Homura gave a resolute nod. While she still felt like something was going on that she was unaware of, she couldn’t argue that the king’s resolution was fair. “Understood, your majesty.”

“Now then, heroes,” the king continued, “I have set these funds aside for you. Please accept them.”

Clapping his hands once, four attendants approached each of the heroes, handing them each a leather bag. All of them made sounds like they were filled with metallic items rattling around loosely, with Homura’s being the largest of the four.

“Madam Homura has received 800 pieces of silver to assist with her lack of companions. The other heroes have each received 600 pieces of silver. Please use the funds as you require and began your journey.” The king made his final declaration.

“Yes sir!” All of the heroes acknowledged in unison. All of them made their obligatory bow of gratitude before backing out of the chamber with their new parties so introductions could be made.

“Um,” the red head began, grabbing Homura’s attention, “So it’s nice to meet you, Madam Shield Hero. My name is Myne Sophia.” Myne introduced herself.

Homura nodded, memorizing the name of her first companion. “Pleasure Miss Myne. My name is Homura Akemi. If we are to work together as a party to help save the world, you may call me Homura.” 

Remembering her lesson with Motoyasu before they entered the throne room, she navigated her menu and sent Myne a party invite. Myne jerked slightly, probably not having expected the invite so suddenly. Homura figured she’d have to remember to warn people in the future. She was no longer able to work alone, not if her ATK stat stayed at 1. Myne accepted the invite after a moment. Homura nodded slightly once again at seeing that accomplished.

“As I am the Shield Hero, it will be my job to protect you Miss Myne, and it will be yours to kill the monsters.” she began. This wasn’t an arrangement she was a stranger to, but it had been many dozens of loops since she’d last held the position of [Defender] in combat. Seeing Myne nod at her words, Homura gestured towards the front gate of the castle. “Let us be on our way then, shall we Miss Myne?”

She smiled and nodded before following Homura out of the castle. Homura never noticed her smile turn into a frown and her glare at her back.

P-*-*-*-H

After crossing the drawbridge that separated the castle from the village surrounding it, Homura got her first real glimpse of the village. Cobblestone streets were lined with stone and wooden buildings, many of which were furnished with wooden signs. Many various smells, most of them delicious wafted out of several of the buildings. The streets were filled with merchants advocating their wares to passersby, the laughing of children playing and the grumbling of adults. It was all reinforcing to Homura that she really was in another world.

“What do you think we should do, Miss Myne?” Homura decided to question her party member. While she knew she could just run everything herself, that would not build companionship. Plus, Myne knew far more about the world and adventuring than she did.

“I think it would be wise to try to get some better equipment and armor.” Myne suggested. Homura was slightly impressed. Her idea had been similar. On top of that it seemed like Myne wasn’t shy and spoke without reservation. Depending on the rest of her personality, Homura figured she could get along well with her, but there was still that doubt in her mind. _‘Why does she have such poisonous looking eyes?’_

“I was thinking the same thing.” Homura responded. “With all the money the king gave us, we should be able to get some good quality equipment.” _‘Though I doubt with my ATK value, that equipping a sword or any weapon for that matter will actually help.’_ Homura thought to herself. Glancing at Myne’s leather armor, that did give her an idea. Considering all the effort these people had gone through to summon her, she felt that she didn’t have any right to try to slack off. Even if she had wanted to.

“Well, I know of a good store if you’re ready to go.” Myne gestured down a different road that was not much smaller than the one that led up to the castle.

Homura gave a nod. “Please lead the way, Miss Myne.”

They walked along the road a good way away from the castle, maybe for about 30 minutes. Homura noticed that Myne walked as if she was skipping. It reminded her of going to the mall with Madoka in the earlier timelines, before she had started to keep her distance from her best friend.

Myne finally slowed her pace and stopped in front of a good size stone building. Over the wooden door hung a large sign in the shape of a sword. “This is the shop I was talking about.”

“Impressive,” Homura muttered, glancing at the interior through the door. Weapons and armor was displayed in a neat manner all over the store, on shelves and on the wall. From this distance, none of it really seemed to lack in quality.

“Welcome!” the owner greeted the girls from behind the counter as they entered the store. The owner fit the exact kind of image Homura had for a Weapon Shop owner. Tall, thick with muscle, tanned from the heat of the forge, bald and wearing a simple blacksmith apron over just as simple linen clothes. “What can I help you ladies with today?”

“We’re here to buy some equipment for me and the Madam Shield Hero here.” Myne explained before Homura could answer. Homura turned to look at her intently, slightly annoyed at being cut off, but deciding it wasn’t worth starting a fight about it right now.

“This little lass is the [Shield Hero]?! Ha! Now that’s a good one if I’ve heard one! She looks like a stiff breeze will knock her down!” the old man exclaimed. Homura turned her glare on to him. But she held back her initial wave of snark because the look in his eyes told her that he was mostly joking. He seemed like a good man, if only one that couldn’t keep his rude jokes to himself.

“Listen up here, shield lass,” he began, Homura bristling almost like an angry cat at yet another new nickname, “If you don’t get yourself some decent equipment, the other adventurer’s will wipe the floor with you. Especially since it seems you drew the short stick.”

Homura let out a huff, before tossing her hair over her shoulder dismissively. “We shall see about that.” She kind of liked the old blacksmith. He seemed honest, if gruff. “I am the Shield Hero, Homura Akemi. I expect for things to get rough from here on, and my companion recommended your shop. So please treat me well.” She introduced herself with a small bow.

Scratching the back of his bald head with his large, heavily calloused hands, he looked Homura up and down appraisingly. “Miss Homura, was it? Well then, here’s to hoping that you become a regular of sorts around here. While I don’t normally stock gear for smaller, younger folk, I’m pretty sure I got some stuff you can use. Let’s see what we can do. Though, it would help if I knew what your budget was like.”

Homura made a sound of understanding before turning to look at Myne. “What do you think Miss Myne? I don’t have a good understanding of the money system in this world yet.”

Myne tilted her head to the side, looking like she was doing some mental math. “Well, I think maybe 300 silver or so should work to get us started.” She answered after a moment. Homura furrowed her brows at that response. _‘That’s almost half of our funds. I understand that proper gear is important but is it seriously that much just to get started.’_

After a moment of thought, Homura turned and looked back at the blacksmith. “We will go with 150 silvers a piece for some armor. Myne already has a sword for now, so she should be fine for a while. I might spend a bit on an affordable starter sword depending on how much they are with our remaining budget.”

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, he suddenly stopped and snapped his fingers. “I think I got something you can use in the back. Why don’t you and your friend take a look around, see if you girls can’t find her some armor she likes on the floor?”

The two girls nodded at his words, turning away to wonder around the shop. Once both Homura and the blacksmith turned their backs to her, Myne let out a small scowl but taking a small deep breath and heading towards the armor section. Homura had made her way towards the short swords.

While she wouldn’t consider herself a proficienado, Homura had developed an eye for weapons over her many repeats. Stealing from the yakuza, JSDF and police had given her experience at looking over weapons for the quality of both materials and craftsmenship. While her main weapon of choice had been firearms and ordinance, she did keep swords and other melee weapons for when they would come in handy and had likewise developed at least basic profficiency with them.

All of that experience told her that even the swords made from cheaper materials had excellent, she would almost say materful, craftsmanship. Looking some of them over, she noticed that some of them looked to be made of the exact same materials but had a faint shimmering shine over the blades. Her senses said it was some kind of magic, but it was magic that she had never encountered.

Homura cast her eyes around her immediate area, looking for a sign that warned against handling merchandise that was so common back in her world. When she didn’t see one, she reached out to grab one of the more affordable looking display models. However, as her fingers touched the hilt a strong shock sparked around her fingers and the blade, making her jerk her fingers away. At the same instant, she received a pop up in the style she was becoming used to, what was different however was this one had text that was bright red.

**{ WARNING : Legendary Armament Contract Violation! Contact was made with an unauthorized weapon class with the intent of combat.**

**Users may only wield weapons of their assigned class for the purposes of combat. }**

Homura narrowed her eyes at the new message. _‘That...complicates...matters. Significantly.’_ the magical girl was far from amused. Turning her glare to the shield she found stuck upon her arm, she tilted it so she could focus on the green jewel. _‘An ATK of 1. Complete inability to use a different weapon. My time magic, sealed. This world...it summoned me to protect it, and then takes away almost the entirety of my combat power. Wait…. protect….’_

That word, yet again. 

_‘Protect_ _this world from the [Waves of Destruction]!’_ the King’s words.

 _‘I wish to redo my meeting with Madoka! But this time, I want to be the one protecting her!’_ her wish.

 _‘I will find a way to save Madoka! I will find a way to save( protect) everyone if it means spiting that rat!’_ her desire.

Homura took a deep breath and let it out, doing her best to release her anger and frustration as she does. _‘I understand now. The shield is a Weapon of Protection, not Attacking. My purpose in this world is not to Fight the Waves, no that job belongs to the boys. My job is to Protect the World from the Waves.’_ Homura watched the Shield’s Jewel glow softly before dimming, seemingly confirming her words. She scowled, _‘Why can I never receive the easy jobs? Kill Madoka to keep her from turning into a Witch? Keep her from becoming a magical girl? Now this.”_

Lowering her shield arm back to her side, she let out a sigh. She’d find a way to make it work. Like she has always worked towards. That just meant she HAD to trust someone to fight for her. If she was to be the Shield, then she would need a Sword. Turning around to look for Myne, she noticed her eyeing up an awfully expensive looking piece of...rather slim looking armor. It looked more decorative than functional, while still trying to be somewhat useful. Homura’s scowl deepened farther. Somewhere in her heart, she did not feel like Myne would be able or willing to take up the role. But she’ll reserve her judgement for now.

Before she could make her way towards her party member, she saw the blacksmith stepping back into the shop proper, so she changed her direction. As she approached, she saw what looked like pieces of armor under a black cloth on the bar of the shop.

“Ah, shield lass! Perfect, I was just about to call for you. These look to be around the right size for you, with maybe a little adjustment.” He announced cheerfully. With a cheerful flourish, he pulled the cover off of the pieces. On the counter sat a set of armor that looked similar to what Myne was looking at, but a bit more substantial. There was a breastplate that didn’t cover all the way down the belly, but didn’t expose the chest at all really like the one Myne had been looking at, some simple pauldrons to cover the shoulders, a pair of leather gloves with a metal plate on the back and a pair of shin guards that looked like they could be attached over her boots.

“I figured you might be the kind to value agility over absorbing even more damage. Plus these should work well with them fancy clothes you’re wearing already, which look to be made of griffon hide. So with this [Air-Wake Steel Half-Plate Armor] and your fancy clothes, you should be set on armor for a while, maybe even until level 40!” he explained.

Homura looked down in slight shock at her current pair of clothes. She was wearing clothes made from the hides of actual griffons? She knew this was a fantasy-esque world, but griffons? Not only that, she didn’t imagine that griffon hide was cheap. That made her realize she never actually checked their status, nor the status of the armor the blacksmith was presenting. So she decided to check them both.

**{ Homura Akemi**

**Class: Shield Hero LV 1**

**Equipment: [Small Shield] (legendary armament)**

**[Madoka’s Ribbon] Equip Bonus: Magic Defense Up (small)**

**[Griffon Hide Fairy Dress] Equip Bonus: Fire Resist Up (medium), Wind Resist Up (medium), Defense Up (small), Magic Resist Up (small), Night Vision Up (small) }**

**{ [Steel Half-Plate Armor]**

**Equip Bonus: Air Wake, Defense Up, Slice Resist Up (small) }**

_‘Fairy Dress? Really? And what is this [Air Wake]?’_ Homura thought to herself. “Pardon me, Mister Blacksmith, but what is this [Air Wake]?” she asked aloud, “And I apologize for my rudeness, but may I also get your name?”

The big blacksmith gave a loud booming laugh. “Not a problem at all lass, the name’s Erhard, best blacksmith in Castle Town! As far as what [Air Wake] is, it’s a special smelting process that creates an alloy with a special kind of magic ore that reduces the weight of the armor down to as little as 5% of the weight it would be.” he explained, smirking at the look of shock on her face. “I know, it’s extremely useful, but obviously more expensive. Though since that piece has been sitting in the back of my shop for a while after the family that commissioned it died on the road and never picked it up, it used less materials than it otherwise would’ve since it’s for a small person like yourself, I can afford to give it away for 150 silver. At that price, I’m practically giving it away!”

Homura looked at it with slightly conflicting feelings. But she could understand where he was coming from. Stock sitting around wasn’t making a profit after all and was taking up space for other things that could be making him profit. She also found that [Air Wake] feature to be amazing. That would mean despite wearing what should be an easy 10 kilos (22 lbs) of steel, she’d only be wearing what was effectively only a half kilo (1lb) of armor. She could barely begin to imagine what it should cost in full.

“Excuse me Mister Blacksmith!” Myne called from behind her, interrupting their conversation. “How much would this beautiful armor cost?”

Erhard looked over Homura to see what Myne was asking about, Homura herself turning around to see herself. Turns out it was an even skimpier version of what she had been looking at earlier, plus it looked to be made from something shiny and high quality, almost like silver. “Ah, that thing.” Erhard made a bit of a face, almost like he was ashamed that thing was in his shop.

“That’s more of decorative armor for court ladies who want to accompany their intended on a hunting trip and just look good rather than being functional. Hardly fitting for the companion of a hero, don’t you think?” Homura could understand exactly where he was coming from. She agreed completely.

“I am sorry Miss Myne, but I am going to have to say no to that ‘armor’ myself.” the young girl said, giving the not really armor a scathing look. “It does not fit with the image of a hero. While I would normally not be one to care, but as the youngest of the four heroes I have to take extra care to present myself properly. Otherwise it will only cause more issues that I would prefer to not deal with.” 

For the first time, Myne openly made a disgruntled face at the younger girl. “But Madam Shield Hero,” she began to argue, “if you’re to be there to protect me from damage, then what does it matter how effective the armor is or not?”

Homura turned fully and crossed her arms as she looked intently at her party member. Not quite glaring, but close. “I believe you are missing my point Miss Myne. It is not appropriate appearance wise for a member of a hero’s party. Plus, while I intend to protect you from everything I can, I do not doubt that there will be times that I cannot do so. I would like for you to be able to handle yourself as well as possible in the case I am not around or otherwise occupied.” Glancing at the price tag that was listed with the armor, it took her a moment to put the characters to numbers from this morning, but when she did, she knew it was even more out of the question. “Plus, the price on that armor, even if you haggled it down by half, is still way over our budget. By itself, it would take most of our current funds. Absolutely out of the question. You may either stick with your leather armor, buy some kind of half plate armor as I have or some chain, or you may leave my party entirely Miss Myne. While I would hate to have you leave on the first day, I would rather find someone I can work with reliably. So far, you are not fitting that idea.”

The two young women had a small standoff in front of the older blacksmith. For a moment he thought that they might come to blows. He was no stranger to that happening when party members wanted to spend over budget and couldn’t agree on a compromise. Finally, the red head let out a huff. “Very well, Madam Shield Hero. I will stick with my current armor for now. However, I must ask, are you intending to buy a sword?”

Homura relaxed her muscles slightly, knowing that a fight had been avoided for now. “There is no point. When I tried to pick up a sword moments before Mister Erhard came back from the back, the shield shocked me and provided me with the notice that I cannot wield any weapons besides my shield. I figure the other heroes will have the same limitation with their weapons.”

Myne made a shocked expression at the hero’s statement, even as the hero turned to the blacksmith. “Do you have a changing room where I may put on the armor to make sure it fits? And while I do that, can you retrieve for me a hunting knife? While I cannot use it to fight, I do not believe my shield would argue about me disassembling corpses.” After being pointed out to the dressing room, Homura grabbed her new armor off the counter and proceeded to get dressed. She was expecting it to be a long afternoon if Myne was going to continue to be...difficult.


	3. Basics of Combat

** Chapter 3 – **

_ Basics of Combat _

Homura looked between some of the other stores in the area as she and Myne left the blacksmith. Rolling her shoulders slightly, she was conscious of the new weight that was resting on her shoulders and torso. She had never worn armor before, and while she was glad that the weight was negligible, she figured it would take a while to get used to the rather elegant if simple half plate armor. Turning her attention to the still scowling Myne, she let out a soft sigh to herself.

“Miss Myne,” she called out, bringing her attention to her. “Yes Madam Shield Hero?” Myne responded.

Homura narrowed her eyes slightly. _‘It’s strange. I don’t think she’s called me by name once this whole time.’_ She thought to herself. “First off, you may call me Homura. If we are going to be a party saving the world together, then I feel like we can afford that much respect between each other.” Myne gasped and covered her mouth with her hand, acting properly shocked. But to Homura it looked just like that. An act.

“I could never!” Myne gasped out. All of this was starting to grate severely on Homura’s nerves, but she held off. After all, dealing with Myne would at least save her some time getting started. So with a slowly growing scowl, Homura continued on. “Second, is there anywhere near by where we can acquire some basic medical supplies? I want to be prepared in the case something happens to either of us.”

Myne regarded her curiously. “But Madam Shield Hero, aren’t you going to protect us both from the monsters and bandits that are going to attack us?”

Homura scowled and started to glare up at the older woman. “As I have told you Miss Myne. It is unlikely that I will always be able to cover both of us, nor that we will always be together. What if we are attacked by something that deals more damage than I can stop? Am I to just let one of us bleed to death?”

The two women had yet another stand-off, this time in front of the shop, some people stopping to stare at the oddly mismatched pair, what with young beauty and the other a more adult one, the younger of the two having more fanciful armor in comparison. It created an image that did not paint Homura in a good light.

Hearing the people around them starting to mutter some not nice words about her, she crossed her arms in front of herself and chose her words carefully. “I would just like to make sure we have medicine and supplies in case that we need them. I have always believed it is better to be safer than sorry later on.” She stated firmly, and a bit louder than she would’ve normally, making sure everyone around them heard. “Since you chose not to get armor we could afford, it is even more important to get medicine to begin with. So please, if you can show me the way to the store, the sooner we may be on the road.”

Myne scowled down at the younger girl, her eyes flicking around at the people who were starting to agree with Homura. Obviously to Homura, it looked like she had tried to use the crowd against her and hadn’t expected her to use it herself. “Fine. It is this way Madam Shield Hero.”

Homura looked after her with slight confusion on her face. She had emphasized her title more than necessary. The magical girl noticed the change that automatically happened to a few of the people around her. The faces they made, it looked like the face that Sayaka would make towards her after meeting the Incubator and Mami Tomoe.

Suspicion.

Distrust.

For some reason, a decent chunk of the population seemed to not like or trust the Shield Hero. Why would that be? What had happened in the past to make one of the [Four Holy Heroes] an outcast? It was all a very uncomfortably familiar position to Homura.

P-*-*-*-H

She followed her party member the short way to a store. Stopping in front of the store she took the time to stop and read the sign. It took a moment to translate and mumble out a proper enough pronunciation for the shield to translate it for her. Apothecary.

It made sense to Homura. This world was based on a time before a scientifically backed pharmaceutical industry took the place of a medieval apothecary. But considering magic was more commonplace in this world, it would not surprise her if magic were involved unlike it just was believed to be in her world.

Finally entering the store, Homura looked around. Some familiar medical supplies such as wrap bandages were on display, along with a variety of creams and potions of various colors. Behind the counter, working away on a mortar and pestle with a small pile of herbs next to him was an old man. Unlike the blacksmith, the apothecary looked old, with longer white hair, well-worn hands, and kind of spindly. But he mixed the medicine with experience, not allowing himself to be distracted from the simple looking work.

It reminded Homura of making her munitions back in her world. It filled her with frustration. She didn’t want to have to rely on others. She hated the thought of it. She had lost and been hurt so much trusting others. But this world decided the rules she had to follow if she wanted to return and save Madoka. So, as much as she hated it, she would play along. For now.

Slowly she approached the counter, paying attention to what the old apothecary was doing. While she would be lacking the exact knowledge and technical skills, if she could teach herself to make some simple medicine, she figured it would come in handy eventually. So while she waited patiently, Myne kicked back against the wall nearby with a huff, crossing her arms across her chest.

Eventually deeming his current task finished, the old man looked up at Homura. His gaze switched between her and Myne a few times before settling back on to her. Whatever he had been thinking about, and whatever he decided he hid well behind his old age.

“May I help you?” he asked in a gruff voice. Nodding slightly, Homura nodded in response. “Yes sir. I am looking to buy a beginning stock of medicine and equipment for me and my party member.”

He regarded her for a moment before standing and moving around his store, grabbing various potions and equipment off of his shelves. He took the time to arrange them out before her.

“Please pay attention, I don’t want you giving or taking the wrong kind of potion. These green ones are health potions, they will restore an amount of your health when consumed. Small wounds that have stopped bleeding may be healed, and higher-grade potions have been reported to stop bleeding and restore larger wounds.

“The orange paste is a burn cream. It will ease the pain and at this quality likely cure first degree burns. Do not use it on third degree burns, as the damage is too extensive for normal medicine to handle. The light purple potion is a basic antidote. It will cure most poison from sources equivalent to or below level 20. The blue potion is a mana potion and will restore your mana. Do not drink more than two in an hour, or it will cause mana poisoning.

“Finally, a couple of rolls of bandages. They are best used when soaked in a potion for longer lasting exposure but can be used for general purposes such as slowing bleeding or creating a splint in case of a broken bone.” He explained slowly, before quizzing Homura on each of them randomly. Making sure she had each one memorized to his satisfaction.

Once that was completed, he carefully gathered it all up into a small pouch. “That will be 30 silver young lady.” Homura made a slightly disgruntled face. It sounded a bit high but considering that she had received her armor for less than it was worth at 150 silver, she figured she wasn’t being overcharged. So she counted out the money from her bag and handed it to the old apothecary.

“That pouch can be attached to your belt or strapped to your leg. If you want to have your companion carry some, she can get a pouch on her own.” He explained after double checking the money.

Homura gave him a small bow. “Thank you very much.” She responded honestly. The shop owner looked a bit confused at her actions but waved her off. “Not a problem girl. Just please try to take care of your partner there. While I appreciate the business, I don’t like seeing people in my shop too often.”

“Are you done yet Madam Shield Hero?” Myne interjected before Homura could reply. “I would like to get to the fields sometime before the sun goes down. Homura glanced outside the window in the store. Judging by the shadows, it was just barely coming up on midday. That still left several hours. More and more, Homura felt something was going on.

With a soft sigh of frustration, she turned and looked towards her frustrating partner. “Yes Miss Myne. I believe we are ready to begin hunting some monsters for the day. If you would like to lead the way, we can afford to stop and grab a small snack from a stall before heading outside the gates.”

Myne rolled her eyes and left the store quickly. Before Homura could leave, the old man stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. Turning to look at him curiously he made a small face. “Be careful of her, Lady Shield Hero. While I may not appreciate what you represent, you earned a few points in coming here before heading out to fight. She is not one to be trusted. And for you, finding someone to trust is important.” Before she could respond, he had retreated to the back of his shop.

Homura scowled deeply. His words set off even more flags in her head. Something was going on. This something seemed to involve being the [Shield Hero]. Something had happened, she was sure of it now. Something bad enough that apparently warranted a partly systematic hate of her position. That would make saving this world even more difficult. And she was supposed to be the child?

P-*-*-*-H

Following Myne out of the gate in the large stone wall around the castle town, Homura took a moment to look around at the green fields that surrounded her before they gave way to woodlands, which in the distance she could see grew into a towering forest. It was a sight that was rare in her world, and it had been years even prior to her loops that she had last seen anything remotely similar.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, letting a moment of relative calm and peace settle over her as a gentle breeze tousled her hair.

“What are you waiting for, Madam Shield Hero?” Myne broke her out of the small trance she had begun to slip into. Letting out a small sigh, Homura opened her eyes and turned her attention to her companion.

“I was merely taking a moment to appreciate nature. Places like this are rare in my world, and it has been a long time since I could last enjoy it.” she decided to explain. Myne regarded her curiously.

“Nature like this is rare in your world? Is it the same for the other heroes?” she questioned; her curiosity seemed actually peaked at this new revelation.

Homura took a moment to decide on how to explain. “I can not answer for them, but I would imagine it would be awfully similar.” she finally began. “In my home, we had towers that were several dozen times taller than the castle,” Homura made a vague gesture to the castle that loomed over the town they stood outside of, “side by side, dozens of times over, with somewhat varied heights. Typically, they were made of glass and steel, but some of the older buildings were made of cement and steel. We used…. a form of lightning magic, I suppose, to power motors that would raise or lower steel platforms up and down the towers so we did not have to climb several hundred meters worth of stairs. My home itself was a bit smaller than the castle but housed several hundred people. We called it an apartment complex. It was a normal place for single people or freshly married couples to live in their own assigned rooms. But we also had houses like you do here for larger, or wealthier families.”

Myne looked progressively more and more shocked the more Homura explained. “So... what are these massive towers used for? Surely they had to serve some kind of purpose?”

Homura decided to start walking out into the fields, but turned her head slightly towards Myne, making sure she was following but so she could be heard clearly. “Mostly they were used by businesses. Some contained shops, normally for clothes, and sometimes had spots designated as apartments for the workers of the businesses.”

Myne regarded the younger girl for a moment, looking like she had more questions, but was unsure if she was willing to ask them. When suddenly Homura moved around her and snatched an orange blur out of the air that had lunged to attack Myne.

Homura looked down at the… _‘orange ball with sharp teeth and eyes?’_ she held in her hands. As she focused on it, she saw a name appear above the ball.

** { Orange Balloon } **

“Thank you for stopping that balloon from attacking me, Madam Shield Hero.” Myne thanked with a small bow. “They’re nasty little things. Not really strong, but their sharp teeth are the bane of many new and young adventurers. Why don’t you try popping it? See how well you can fight?”

Homura scowled slightly at the suggestion, already knowing from this morning how well that was going to go. But she finally just let out a sigh and decided it was time to prove a point. She threw the balloon down into the ground and stomped it firmly under her heel before it could move. It took a few minutes of grinding it under her heel before it finally popped with a small whining sound.

** { EXP +1 } **

Homura flinched slightly, not expecting the pop up, before glaring down at the rubber like scraps under her boot. “That...is not what I was expecting.” Myne muttered, waving away the pop up that apparently popped up for her as well. “Even without a weapon, most people would’ve been able to pop it like that fairly quickly.”

Homura let out another sigh. “I am the [Shield Hero], Miss Myne. My job is to defend and restrain opponents. While I can technically deal damage, especially this early with all the weapons being this weak, I do not expect to get far by myself. Unfortunately,” she quietly uttered the last part to herself.

Myne suddenly jerked before pointing a shaking hand towards Homura’s arm. “Hmm?” Homura turned and looked down at where the older woman was pointing. She blinked slightly at the sight of another Orange Balloon gnawing on her arm. Judging by her partner’s expression, it was supposed to hurt, but she barely felt anything. Like a faint itching if anything.

Grabbing it firmly like she caught the last one, she held it out towards Myne. “Like I said, my role is to defend. I require party members to defeat enemies and make progress to help save the world.”

Myne looked at her weirdly, looking like she was trying to figure out Homura was telling her, though it looked so faked to her. Growling in her head, Homura made a gesture to her sword. “So if you don’t mind drawing your sword, Miss Myne, and dealing with this nuisance, we can move on to something a bit better.”

Myne looked like she wanted to argue but couldn’t come up with a good reason not to. Finally sighing she drew her sword and lazily swung it at the balloon, not making any attempt to avoid hitting Homura. The magical girl almost missed it underneath the sound of the balloon popping. A sound similar to when she kicked Motoyasu this morning. A sound that Homura was beginning to understand what it meant.

Damage Cancellation.

Holding the balloon scraps in her hand as she clenched it into a fist, Homura ignored the experience pop up that disappeared by itself shortly after. Glaring up at Myne who was momentarily startled at the venom in her glare, she began to glare back. “What was that Miss Sophia?” Homura ground out.

“Whatever do you mean Madam Shield Hero?” Myne spat back. “I merely killed the balloon like you asked me too.”

Homura scowled at her. “Yes. However, you made no attempt to avoid hitting me, and in fact did hit me. Had my defense not been as high as it is, you would have wounded me.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Myne tried to play ignorant.

Homura took a deep breath, dropping her glare for an icy gaze as she made her final decision. Quickly navigating her [Status Menu] she pulled up the option she was looking for.

** { Would you like to dismiss <Myne Sophia> from your party? **

** [Yes] or [No]? } **

Selecting yes, she took internal pleasure at seeing the surprise jerk on her ex party member’s face when she received the notification.

“If that is the mindset you are going to have Myne Sophia, then I cannot trust you with my back nor my life. You are free to return to the town by yourself. Surely an experienced adventurer selected by his Majesty can do that much without a hero.” Without waiting for a response, Homura turned away, tossing her hair as she did so, and began to walk towards the forest. She figured that if nothing out here was able to hurt her, then there was no waste in at least looking around.

Had she turned around, she would have seen an angry red head glaring at her with a look that would have set lesser creatures on fire before she turned around and stormed back into town.

After punting a few balloons away smoothly when they came to bother her, Homura began to calm down. After starting to calm down, she turned and glanced back towards where she had come from, only to see the last wisps of a red ponytail walking into the town’s gate. Clenching her fist in frustration for a moment, she lightly startled herself with the feeling of what felt like rubber in her fist.

Turning her hand upwards and opening it she noticed that she was still holding the remains of the balloon in her hand. About to toss them away, she noticed the jewel on her shield glowing faintly. It was then that she remembered she should feed items to her shield to see about unlocking new forms.

** { Orange Balloon acquired! } **

Homura looked at it curiously. That wasn’t what had appeared last night with Madoka’s Ribbon. Navigating and opening her [Weapon Book] she saw that a new icon had lit up connecting to her base [Small Shield], this one looked the exact same, but orange in color. However, there was still a lock over the icon, just like the two shields connecting to her [Companion Shield I].

Thinking over why this could be, she remembered something her [Help Menu] had mentioned in unlocking weapon forms. _‘Am I not a high enough level?’_ she thought to herself. It made a certain amount of sense. If this was the equivalent of a _[Tutorial]_ in a video game, and Homura hated thinking of the world like that, then it would make sense to reinforce the idea that levels are also needed in unlocking new weapons. _‘I will probably unlock that shield for use when I reach LV 2.’_

Remembering her Ribbon Shield from this morning, she looked at the icon for her [Companion Shield I]. She remembered that some kind of instinct was telling her to not use it around Myne, but since she was no longer part of her party, she figured she could finally work on unlocking it. Holding her hand over the edge of her shield, she intoned in her mind _‘[Companion Shield I]!’_

With a small flash that she was starting to get used to, her [Small Shield] switched itself into something that resembled a small harp. It possessed only 5 strings and was rather simple appearance wise despite the jewel embedded in the center of it’s base. What did stand out to Homura however were the small symbols that were apparently etched into the wood of her new shield.

It looked like the symbols she associated with the other magical girls from Mitakihara. An eye, a flower, a musical note and... a teardrop. Scowling at the harp, Homura couldn’t help but to feel conflicting emotions about the name and what it’s design implied.

Releasing yet another sigh, she lowered her arm back to her side, figuring there was nothing she could do about it. So the best way to handle it was to ignore it. While she didn’t know _exactly_ what ‘companion growth up’ was, she was far from stupid. From a video game standpoint, it would probably mean that people in her party would receive either more experience or more stats as they leveled up, or both. It’s something that would only help in the long run.

Feeling that same almost not quite itching feeling from earlier, but this time on her calf she looked down. This time it appeared there was a Yellow Balloon gnawing on her. This time when she paid attention to it, Homura noticed a faint purple glow surrounding her body. Since the balloon was doing no damage to her according to the mini status in her upper vision, she decided it was lower priority and traced the flow of the purple aura back to the source, which was apparently her shield. 

Homura quirked her brow at seeing that. It appeared that the shield spread it’s defense all over her body, and from how she saw the magic flowing, her clothes as well. But it looked thinner if she had to give it a word. Almost as if that, yes, while her shield protected her whole body, it was overall only a part of the defense that was directly available from the shield. She’ll have to remember to test it later on when a monster was able to overcome her body’s defense. Which if she was being honest, she hoped was way off into the future.

While no stranger to pain, it did not mean that she reveled in it. She was also unsure if she would be able to spiritually disassociate from it like she could back in her own world with her soul gem apparently gone. She hoped back where it belonged if she was going to be honest.

Finally turning her attention back to the Yellow Balloon, she also noticed several more balloons, both Orange and Yellow approaching her. Grabbing the one currently biting her leg, she pulled it off, and after punting the several approaching balloons away in a single graceful kick, regarded it for a moment. 

She felt silly even thinking about punching it. But without an actual weapon, all she had was her body and what martial arts she knew. Traditional martial arts wasn’t going to help on something like this, so it would just be basic punching, or stomping it into the ground like she did previously. Homura really didn’t want to spend all afternoon wasting so much time popping balloons of all things with her essentially nonexistent damage output.

Deflating slightly, she knew her pride wouldn’t let her return to town without having gained at least a single level. So she decided to swallow her embarrassment and started to firmly punch the yellow biting ball in her hands.

For ten minutes.

During those 10 minutes, the balloons she had originally kicked away from her had come back. Having an idea, she stomped firmly on to one of the Orange Balloons and began to grind it under her heel like earlier. She steadily kept kicking the other ones away while she punched the Yellow Balloon. In the time it took her to pop a single yellow, she managed to pop three more orange balloons.

** { EXP +1! } **

** { EXP +1! } **

** { EXP +1! } **

** { EXP +5! } **

Homura scowled slightly. It took so long for her to gain so little experience. Vaguely remembering something Sayaka had pointed out to her so long ago, she expanded her [Status Menu]. After looking for a moment, at the very bottom she found what she had been looking for.

** { Level 1 **

** Experience to Level 2 : 9 / 100 } **

Along with the text information was also a bar that covered the entire bottom length of her status window, that was about 10% filled. Quickly running the math, that meant that Homura would be out killing balloons for roughly another two hours. Not how she wanted to spend her afternoon, but she knew she had to achieve level 2 before dinner. It was reasonable, considering that would give her roughly another three hours. 

But the embarrassment from punching balloons.

For hours.

With yet another sigh, Homura set to work. Slowly wandering the fields, letting the balloons come to her more than anything, steadily decimating the population of the rubber spheres. After about an hour, the young woman came across a patch of what looked like small red leaves to her. But she recognized them as the plants that the apothecary had been grinding up when she had stopped by. Even if she was sure they were next to useless, she had dutifully absorbed the balloon scraps left by her current prey. If this plant were truly a medicinal herb, then it would be both more valuable and more useful. 

Deciding to take a small break from balloon hunting since she was currently at 66 / 100 experience, she knelt by the side of the possible herbs. Looking for some in worse conditions for the experiment, she eventually located and picked a small batch.

** { Aloe: quality: poor, a medicinal herb for treating wounds } **

Homura tilted her head slightly to the side at that. She had heard of aloe, she knew it was used as a soothing agent for first degree burns, but she hadn’t heard of other uses for it back in her world. But she then thought that it might just be her shield giving it a comparable name. After all, it was common for things to have names in one language and not another, so this might have been a case of that with her shield.

After a moment, she decided to feed the herb to her shield. With a glow and small rush of wind, the herb was dissolved and absorbed.

** { Leaf Shield conditions met! } **

** { Leaf Shield **

** -Abilities Locked- equip bonus: [Gathering] skill +1 } **

Looking at the supposed abilities she would unlock, she tried to figure out what it would do. Based on what had unlocked the shield and how she had gotten it, _‘Will it increase the quality of the herb after I pick it?’_ she wondered. Deciding to give it a try, she swapped to her newly unlocked [Leaf Shield]. Finding an herb that looked of better quality than the first one, but not much, it gave a soft green glow after being picked before dimming and visibly looking better.

** { Aloe: quality: somewhat poor increased to decent, a medicinal herb for treating wounds } **

Regarding the magically better herb, Homura deliberated for a moment. Finally coming to a decision, she nodded to herself and proceeded to pick some of the better herbs she could find. Alternating every now and then between that and killing balloons as they approached her. Homura steadily increased the supply of herbs in her inventory while working her way towards Level 2.

After another hour and half, she heard a small chiming sound in her ear, and felt her body grow slightly lighter and stronger in feeling after popping yet another yellow balloon. Blinking in confusion for a moment at the sudden feeling, she was startled when the notification popped up.

** { Level Up! **

** You are now Level 2. **

** Orange Small Shield conditions met! **

** Yellow Small Shield conditions met! } **

“Finally,” Homura huffed to herself as she dismissed the message. Letting her curiosity get the better of her, she opened her [Weapon Book] and navigated to the newly unlocked shields.

** { Orange Small Shield **

** -Abilities Locked- equip bonus: Defense +2 } **

** { Yellow Small Shield **

** -Abilities Locked- equip bonus: Defense +2 } **

Rolling her eyes, she closed her weapons list, deciding to unlock them later, once she had unlocked her current higher priority shields. As she started paying attention again, she saw a new monster rolling toward her, a Red Balloon.

Watching it, she felt her irritation start growing again. She was used to boring repetitive tasks, but she was starting to feel a bit vindictive against these balloon monsters. So when the Red Balloon leaped out of the grass and tried to attack Homura, she deftly caught it midair and proceeded to punch it in frustration, only to become more so at the annoyingly familiar sound.

Damage Cancellation.

That meant that the monster that had just attacked her was significantly stronger than an Orange or Yellow Balloon, and put it outside of her ATK of 1. The line in her combat capability had just been firmly drawn.

And it pissed her off.

Letting out a small scream of frustration she dropped and kicked the Red Balloon away from her as hard as she could. The small thing went flying with a loud screech, disappearing deep into the trees of the forest. Tossing her hair over her shoulder in frustration, she turned towards the town gates and proceeded to head back into town. Her goal for the day was accomplished.

P-*-*-*-H

As Homura walked through the town, she idly looked around, trying to decide where to stop for food and possibly a bed. As she walked, she became annoyed by the constant light bouncing of her coin pouch on her belt. She had long since gotten used to keeping everything in her shield back in her world.

She stopped suddenly at that thought. Why hadn’t she tried to put it into her shield? Was it because of her distrust of Myne? Her frustration at what she’d had to deal with today? Whatever it was, she quickly pulled the pouch off her belt and fed it to her shield. In the corner near her mini status, [65000 G] popped up. Along with that her inventory icon illuminated to show she had a new item.

Pulling up her inventory she went to the lit-up icon.

** { Medium Leather Bag, a utility bag designed to hold coins and other items } **

_ ‘So since that is just the bag with no money, does that mean that the [65000 G] is my money? I had 650 silver, so that would be showing me the amount of money I had in coppers.’ _ Pursing her lips slightly in thought, Homura tried to pull out a single copper, something she theoretically shouldn’t be able to do since she only had silvers.

She was shocked speechless when a single copper coin appeared in her hand, her money indicator dropping to [64999 G]. Staring in shock at the coin that shouldn’t exist, it began to set in the scope of the power of the holy weapons. With a slightly shaking hand she deposited the copper back into her shield.

“Homura?” a familiar voice spoke up from behind her. Turning around she saw the approaching form of an effeminate swordsman, Ren.

“Amaki-senpai, how did your day go?” Homura questioned. While she might not have strictly cared, she figured it would be worth trying to make sure some rapport is built with the other heroes. It helped that Ren was the one she got along the easiest with. She also noticed that he had also bought some armor to wear over his griffon hide clothes.

Nodding in greeting to her, he stopped a respectful arms length away from her. “It went well enough I suppose. I made it to Level 5. While not as far as I would have liked, it will have to do. I spent longer than I intended at the weapon store.” As he was talking, the members of his party came up behind him, but kept a distance that made Homura almost feel awkward. “We were just heading to get dinner at an inn for the night before we hit the road tomorrow morning. Speaking of, where’s your party member?”

Crossing her arms, Homura was unable to keep her eye from twitching. _‘Level 5? How is that fair?’_ “Myne Sophia and I had multiple...disagreements and decided that we could not reliably work together.” Homura tactfully explained. “I plan to search for a new companion tomorrow. Would you mind if I joined you and your party for dinner?”

Ren regarded her for a moment, keeping his face carefully blank. “That would be fine with me,” he finally answered.

Homura gave a half bow. “Thank you Amaki-senpai. If you do not mind, would I be able to ask you some questions over dinner?”

Ren waved his hand dismissively as he continued his way to a nearby inn, where he and his party had previously decided they would stay, Homura keeping pace with him. “Yeah, that’s fine. I don’t mind helping out noobs. If you’re skilled enough to make it as long as you’re just lacking information, that’s fine for me. Just don’t make me carry you down the road.”

Homura narrowed her eyes at him, a sharp comment on the tip of her tongue at his casual callousness. But then she stopped. How was that any different than she had treated her friends? While the language was a bit different, and it was aimed at her, the intention behind it was the same. She could respect that, she guessed. “That is agreeable.”

After getting a table, Homura watched Ren’s party go sit off at their own table, while she joined Ren at their own. 

“Don’t worry about them. I asked them to eat separately from me if I ran into one of the other heroes.” Ren explained seeing where she was looking. Homura nodded at that explanation. “So what did you want to talk about?”

“Since I could not join you boys after dinner last night, I was wondering if you all had made a plan on where to go initially to prevent us from overlapping each other?” Homura began, skimming over the menu, unfortunately not seeing any familiar words in the still unfamiliar language, before putting the menu down to focus on Ren.

Ren lightly tapped the table, having glanced at the menu before dismissing it immediately. After a moment of thought he touched the jewel of his sword at his hip, a rolled-up piece of paper appearing in his hand. Laying it out on the currently empty table in front of him, he unrolled it, revealing what was obviously a map.

“I bought this earlier because I figured it would come in handy once I hit the road. This is a map of Melromarc with some of the surrounding countries.” Ren began his explanation. Homura nodding along as she dedicated as much of the map to memory as possible. She had been planning on getting one eventually, preliminarily relying on whatever party members she had to get around the immediate area. She would possibly have to change that. 

“Eventually, all of us were planning on making it down here, to Zeltoble. They are known to have the best gear possible. I would keep that in mind, so that once you are approaching level 40 at least, you can make your way there. As for immediate plans tomorrow, Castle Town has four gates, one in each cardinal direction. With there being four heroes, we decided that we would each take a gate and follow that route to begin with. I was going to head East, Motoyasu to the South, and Itsuki was going to go West. Each one of those directions have a good collection of weapons for our respective weapons. I am unfamiliar with the Shielder class, so I can’t tell you what quality of shields you’ll find.”

Homura frowned slightly in thought, before answering the unasked question. “That is fine with me Amaki-senpai. I am most worried about running into you boys and enacting whatever issues our weapons imply will happen when we’re close to each other.”

Ren nodded in understanding, rolling up the map whenever the waitress approached their table.

“I apologize for the wait! Is there anything I can get you or your sister?” the waitress asked Ren as the obviously older one. 

Ren and Homura both furrowed their brows.

“She’s not my sister.”

“He’s not my brother.”

They both spoke at the same time, glancing sharply at each other, before looking back to the waitress. The waitress could only sweat slightly as her hospitality smile became a bit strained. “I’m deeply sorry about that. You two totally look like siblings.”

Ren gave a sigh, and just leaned back in his chair. “Whatever, I’ll take whatever you recommend.”

“Same as well.” Homura answered, crossing her arms as she looked away from Ren, a little uncomfortable.

The waitress just looked between the two of them and nodded before walking away. Homura heard her mutter under her breath, “They’re definitely siblings…”

With a sigh, Ren drew her attention back to him by running his hand through her hair. “Before I forget Homura, did you copy any shields from the blacksmith’s?”

Homura tapped her fingers against her bicep. She wasn’t going to admit that her weapon copy ability listed in her help menu had completely slipped her mind. “No. Myne Sophia was...impatient and I was distracted by learning our rule on [Weapon Restriction] while waiting on Erhard to gather my armor from the back.” 

Ren looked at her like she was crazy for a minute, before making a face of realization. “Ah. We should have warned you about that last night, or at least this morning. My apologies.” Ren replied sheepishly. “Well, I would recommend stopping at a store tomorrow and copying what you can. It will help boost you along getting going.”

Homura nodded in response, but before she could ask a question that just occurred to her, the waitress came by with a couple of bowls of what looked like soup and bread. After replying that they were good and didn’t need anything else. Homura continued on, “I am curious Amaki-senpai. Besides unlocking new forms, is there anything specific you recommend to strengthen our weapons?”

Ren looked at her in confusion for a minute, before sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose. “She’s a noob Ren. She’s not a gamer. She doesn’t know these things.” Homura heard him mutter under his breath. She felt like she should be annoyed, but let it go. After taking a moment to recollect himself he turned his attention back to her.

“So outside of leveling and collecting strong weapons, it is important to [Upgrade] your weapons. That’s done using something called [Mastery].” He answered her.

“[Mastery]?” Homura questioned. She hasn’t seen anything like that, whether with her weapons or her [Help Menu].

Ren gave a nod. “As you use your weapons, you’ll find your weapon forms gain experience themselves. Once you’ve filled out this experience bar, it won’t gain any more experience, or Mastery as it’s called, until you’ve reset it. Once you’ve reset the Mastery on the weapon, it will be put into an [Energy Bank]. That energy is then able to be transferred to a different weapon or reinvested back into the same weapon.”

Homura looked at him oddly. “Why would I want to reinvest the energy back into a weapon?”

“Because it’ll increase the rarity of the weapon.” Ren explained. “I imagine that for a long while, you’ll only have weapons that are at a [Common] rarity once you’ve unlocked the initial level of mastery. So you would use your energy to upgrade it to [Uncommon], increasing it’s stats and abilities. Then it would be upgraded to [Rare], [Super Rare], [Ultra Rare], [Ancient] and [Legendary]. Each level is far stronger than the last, but also comparatively more expensive to upgrade each time.”

“Ah. That makes sense I suppose.” Homura replied. While she hadn’t seen anything about it yesterday or this morning, she remembered the several times that the menu had changed itself while she was looking at it. So she opened her [Weapon Book] and pulled up her Leaf Shield that she’d been using all day.

** { Leaf Shield **

** <Abilities Unlocked> equip bonus: [Gathering] +1 **

** Mastery: 15 / 100 } **

Homura gave a small sigh. “Well apparently the shield I have been using all day is only at 15 percent mastery. So I have got a bit before I can even unlock this one.”

Ren regarded her curiously. “15 percent in one day? That’s not terrible considering your lack of attack ability.”

Setting his utensils down after finishing his meal, he moved to stand up. “It was nice running into you Homura. Thank you for joining me for dinner.” Setting down some coins on to the counter, he then put his hand into his pockets. “I wish you good luck in your journey. I hope you’re ready by the time the Wave rolls in.”

Without waiting for a response, he turned around and went towards his party. “Thank you for your assistance Amaki-senpai.” Homura called out to him anyway. Pulling up her [Help Menu] she looked over the new entries that popped up from Ren’s explanation: [Mastery], [Energy Transfer], and [Rarity]. Soon the waitress had come back by, and Homura paid off the remainder of her meal. After that, she made her way to what she thought of as the front desk to rent herself a room for the knife.

P-*-*-*-H

Myne watched the Shield Hero head upstairs after presumably renting a room. It took longer than she had thought it would to find where the girl was going to stay for the night.

“What are you planning, Princess Malty?” a person standing behind her in a nun like outfit questioned her. While she didn’t care for or really put stock into what the Church of Three Heroes said about the supposed Shield Devil, after dealing with the girl for even just half a day, she could honestly say that she couldn’t stand the little wench.

“Had the Shield simply been a male, it would’ve been easy enough to accuse her for rape.” she began. “If we’re going to blame her for a crime against me, then I have an idea that might work.”

“Hmmm, and what would that be?” the nun, her contact with the Church, said. 

Malty hated what she was about to say. But since it was to get her on to the throne, she knew the occasional sacrifice was going to be necessary.


	4. The Trial and The Slave

** Chapter 4 – **

_ The Trial and The Slave _

Homura was startled out of her sleep with the loud banging on her inn room door. Before her mind had caught up, her hand was already grabbing the edge of her harp like shield after trying to grab a gun from it as if she were back in her world.

Looking at it for a moment, her brain still catching up, there was more banging on her door. This time accompanied by shouting from a deep male voice, “Shield Hero! Open this door right now before we break it down!”

Homura was very confused about what was going on. Looking down at her night gown, she thought about making whoever it was banging on her door waiting so she could change. But if they were being serious about breaking the door down, she’d rather be in her night gown than nothing at all, and she had no way to handle it otherwise with her time magic sealed.

Changing her shield from what she hoped was an unlocked Companion Shield I, she changed it to the Orange Small Shield to work on unlocking it as she walked towards the door. Standing behind the door, she cracked it open to see who was there.

Standing there, fist raised as if to bang on her door again, was a mustached knight with several other angry looking knights standing behind him.

“Can I help you, Sir Knight?” Homura asked. His face scrunched up in anger before him and a couple of his underlings shoved her door open, pushing her back. Before she could raise her voice to yell at them, her arms were grabbed and jerked behind her back, shackles slapped on to her wrists.

“You’re under arrest Shield Hero! You’re to be brought before His Majesty immediately to stand for your crimes!” The man that was obviously the one in charge yelled once more.

Homura’s brain screeched to a halt at the suddenness of everything. _‘What the hell is happening?’_ she thought to herself. Just as suddenly she was being shoved out into the hallway and out of the building. She thought about resisting, but the several men holding spears to her back and the few more around her with their hands on their swords convinced her otherwise. Without her armor equipped she didn’t think it wise to test her, admittedly still ridiculous, defense stat against their weapons.

P-*-*-*H

Homura was shoved into the massive double doors into the throne room, landing kneeling on the ground. Quickly she was surrounded by several more knights, each holding a spear to her before she could stand. Looking up, she saw her three fellow heroes standing up on the rise near the King, but their faces were red, and they were looking away from her.

She felt her own face flush red, mostly from embarrassment, but partially from anger as well. Not only had she just been paraded through the early morning crowd on the main road to the castle in just her nightgown. Because of the angle she was forced to kneel in relation to where the others were standing, her fellow heroes got a nice glimpse down her gown when she was tossed down. _‘If they do not forget about it immediately, I will kill them. Shield or not, I will kill them.’_ She swore in her head. She felt a moment of vindictive pleasure at seeing them all shudder and spines stiffen.

Before she could gather herself, the King stood from his throne. “What is the meaning of this?!” he bellowed loudly. “I told you to bring the Shield Hero here for questioning! Why is she not dressed?!”

The captain, she supposed, went from smiling smugly to looking confused. Homura was confused overall, it had been just one shock after another in many uncomfortable ways for the last 15 minutes, but she narrowed her eyes balefully at him.

“Your Majesty?” the knight responded. “We bought her here as you instructed. You didn’t say to make sure she was presentable. I felt you would want to question her quickly about why she assaulted your daughter.”

King Aultcray looked ready to murder the knight for a moment, before taking a deep breath and glaring down at the knight, while Homura just grew even more confused. _‘Assault his daughter? Who is his daughter? Even if I could hurt them, the only person I have met here that I would even consider it on would be Myne Sophia, and she is a simple adventurer. Or is she?’_ She thought, trying to figure out what was going on.

“So you decided that the best thing to do was to march a 14 year old girl,” the King began, addressing the knight angrily, “through the village, as everyone was leaving their homes for the day, in her bed clothes?”

The knight looked even more confused before looking at her and widening his eyes for moment. Seemingly just now realizing her state of dress. Turning back to the King, he tried to stammer a response. He was cut off quickly however.

“Even with your beliefs, Captain, how do you think the general populace is going to look at the knights?” Homura noticed several of the people holding her at spear point were beginning to look uncomfortable. “How do you think they’re going to look at me and the Queen? Even if I am angry that Malty was assaulted last night, I can not simply allow this treatment of the Shield Hero!”

Ren and Motoyasu looked at the King strangely. “Wait a minute,” Ren said, “That’s why we’re here?”

Homura finally managed to cut in and say something as the King looked towards Ren confused. “Who are you talking about your majesty? I do not know a Princess Malty.”

“Liar!” Itsuki snarled, as he shifted slightly to the side, revealing Myne cowering against his back. Homura reeled back in shock. Her face and exposed arms and legs were covered in bruises, her clothes torn and her leather armor appearing cut by a knife. “Princess Malty was your party member when you two left yesterday! She said that you kicked her out of your party and abandoned her to monsters! After she made it back to town, you found her last night and proceeded to beat her unconscious!” He roared at her.

“I demand [Justice] be bought upon her!” he turned to face the King while pointing down towards Homura.

“This is ridiculous.” Ren replied, crossing his arms with a huff. “Homura couldn’t have done any of that even if she had wanted to, Itsuki.”

Motoyasu nodded in response to Ren, while the King turned to face him, cutting off Itsuki before he could yell at the other boys. “How do you figure that Sir Ren?” Aultcray questioned. “Surely you’re not just saying that because you fancy her.”

Ren’s faced flushed a bit, probably remembering the very brief view from earlier even as he turned his head away slightly, causing Homura to focus her glare on him. “We learned yesterday that Homura has an ATK stat of 1. Not to mention some of the damage to the princess’ clothes look to be caused for a knife. Those could not have been caused by Homura.”

Itsuki and the King both looked shocked. “What do you mean an ATK of 1, Ren?!” Itsuki exclaimed. “Even in _Dimension Wave_ , Shielders had a higher ATK than that, even if they were bottom tier trash!”

Looking at the Bow Hero with some confusion at his choice of words, the King gestured towards Ren. “What do you mean the cuts could not be caused by her? Surely even with an ATK of 1, it would be possible to use a knife to cut some clothes.”

Motoyasu decided to answer this time. “Yesterday morning, while we were waiting for you to finish getting dressed Itsuki, little Homura found us in front of the meeting hall. She was annoyed at me for her nickname, so she kicked me in the gut.” Scratching the back of his head, he chuckled. “Launched me into the wall good she did. Her kick was excellent to, knocked all the wind out of me for a good minute. But the thing is, she did no damage to me. Had the cancellation sound and everything.

“As for not being able to cut Princess Malty, that’s easy. Our weapons apply something called [Restriction] on us, letting us only use weapons of the kind assigned to us for the purpose of combat. So I can only fight spears, Ren swords and Itsuki bows. I would take it that Homura can only wield her shield.” He continued on, Itsuki still looking dumbfounded at Homura’s attack stat. “So like Ren said, even if she wanted to, there’s no way little Homura could have assaulted the princess last night.”

Aultcray regarded the two heroes for a moment, before turning to face Homura. He looked at her for a long while, searchingly, while she tried to keep most of her anger and frustration from her face. Finally, he called over one of his assistants. “Go find and bring me a servant at Level 1 with no armor. We shall test the Spear and Sword Heroes claims.”

The assistant bowed and left the throne room, the King returned to his seat. “Stand, Shield Hero. I want to hear from you while we wait for him to return.”

Homura narrowed her eyes and stiffly stood up. Shifting slightly to try and get her gown to cover as much as possible with her hands chained behind her back, she looked at the king for a moment. “After receiving our funds last night, Myne Sophia and I headed to the Blacksmith Erhard’s store on her recommendation. I attempted to pick up a sword, intending to buy it to pull my weight in combat when the sword was expelled from my hand by the Legendary Shield.” She began to explain.

“After that, the blacksmith came out from the back with the armor for me that I ended up purchasing, as well as a knife to skin and prepare monsters. When I questioned Myne Sophia about buying her some armor, she requested armor that was both more than the entirety of what funds we had received yesterday, and inappropriate for what I consider to be worn by a hero’s party member. So we left without outfitting her because of her own choice, turning down the alternative that I had suggested to her. Before heading out to the fields, we stopped by the Apothecary to purchase some medical supplies in case something slipped by me or through my defense.”

“A moment, Shield Hero.” The king interjected, glancing towards his daughter who looked like she wanted to start screaming at her. “The other heroes say that you are not allowed to wield a weapon in combat. Why purchase a hunting knife?”

Homura quirked an eyebrow at the question, she had thought she answered it with her explanation. “I am allowed to use the knife as a tool. It is when I consider using it for combat that it is rejected by the Shield.” Seeing him nod, she continued with her story. “After purchasing medical supplies, we proceeded out to the field, where we encountered some Orange Balloons.

“I caught one midair when it tried to attack Myne Sophia. I then asked her to dispose of it while I held it for her. When she attacked it with her sword, she made no attempt to not hit me. Had my defense not be high as it apparently is, she would have hurt me. I dismissed her from my party after that since we were near the gates and sent her away. I cannot trust my back to someone who will not even attempt to keep from hurting me.”

“Liar!” Malty screeched, pointing at her from behind Itsuki. “You know you abandoned me deep in the forest by myself! Left me to fight my way back into town!” Her venomous green eyes looked alarmed. Like this was not going how she had expected for it to.

Homura narrowed her eyes at her when Itsuki began to scream at her as well. In all honesty, his words sounded so much like Sayaka’s _“Ally of Justice”_ spiels that she ignored it with ease of long practice. “I myself did not progress pass the fields of aloe outside of the gates. I spent the afternoon by myself gathering herbs and killing Orange and Yellow Balloons until I reach Level 2. If you circled back around into the forest behind me after I saw you enter the town, then that has nothing to do with me.”

Before the arguing could continue, the king’s assistant returned. Trailing behind him was a face awfully familiar to Homura, Amelia. “Your Highness, I have found a servant as requested. This is Maid Amelia.”

The king regarded her for a moment. “You’re the maid that served as the handmaiden for the Shield Hero the last two days, are you not?”

Amelia nodded after bowing deeply, glancing over to Homura in concern out of the corner of her eyes. “I am your Majesty.”

“Raise your head, Maid Amelia. You are not here to serve testimony.” Aultcray informed her. Amelia raised her head as ordered, looking confused.

The king stood and gestured towards Homura. “Unbind the Shield Hero.”

“Sir?” questioned one of the knights still holding the magical girl at spear point. He promptly received a sharp glare. “Do not make me repeat myself.”

Nodding quickly, he dropped his spear and proceeded to unlock Homura’s shackles. Once she was free, the first thing she did was straighten her gown as much as possible, glaring at the boys who once again averted their eyes, even Itsuki, even if he kept an angry look on his face. Rubbing her wrists gently, Homura turned to face the king who was now standing next to Amelia. His hand holding her shoulder firmly, keeping her in place.

“Shield Hero, prove to me that you have no attack power. I order you to strike Amelia as if you were assaulting her.” He ordered.

Amelia looked startled, her eyes darting between Homura and Aultcray. Homura glowered at the King, growling softly at his order.

Slowly, she approached the maid, who was now looking at her with scared eyes. “I am sorry Amelia. I promise it will not hurt physically.” Before the maid had a chance to react or say anything, Homura wrapped her arm around Amelia’s shoulders and launching a solid uppercut into her gut.

Amelia gave a loud gasp as all the air was driven from her lungs but being held in place between Homura and the king. Her head fell forward as her knees also gave out, but she blinked in surprise as Homura caught her and gently lowered her to the ground as she caught her breath. Instinctively she looked at her health bar and became very confused, not having heard the damage cancellation sound in her small panic.

“I’m…not hurt? But Lady Akemi…?” she muttered, slightly dazed. Suddenly she felt her hair being lightly stroked by a hesitant hand. When she started paying attention again, she started to blush. Her Lady Akemi was stroking her hair.

“I am sorry about that Amelia…” she heard Homura mutter softly, her face looking upset before she turned a glare at the king. “Are you satisfied now _your majesty_?

Without saying a word, Aultcray looked back with an emotionless face, before returning to his throne.

“Papa!” Malty exclaimed. “You can’t seriously believe the Shield! They must’ve planned this!”

“I felt the force that Madam Akemi struck Maid Amelia with, and I appraised her myself after she was struck. Her health didn’t drop a single point.” Aultcray announced. Turning his focus to his daughter and the Bow Hero, both looking unconvinced, but he continued. “I don’t know why you felt the need to try to frame Madam Akemi, my daughter. I shall let it pass this time, but I announce now. The next time a Hero is to be accused of a crime, the accuser shall be branded by and give a testimony under the Slave Seal!”

Turning his attention to Homura and Amelia, he took another moment to say anything to her. “I apologize for the shame you have experienced today Madam Akemi. I will give you an additional 200 silver as recompense for my daughter falsely accusing you. To the other heroes, I apologize for the time wasted this morning. Malty, since you seem to have decided which hero you wish to follow, you shall accompany the Bow Hero in his quests.”

Having heard the king’s verdict, Ren approached Homura, looking away from her while his hand hovered over the jewel of his sword. As he neared her, he pulled out a black cloak and laid it over her shoulders, covering her up. “Next time you want to waste my time, your Highness, please don’t.” He said facing the king before turning his attention to younger girl. “I’m sorry about this Homura. Please get past this setback and get strong for the Waves. Once you’re ready, remember to head north if you don’t want to risk running into any of us.”

Without waiting for a response, he turned and left the castle. With a huff, Itsuki and Malty both left the castle, completely ignoring Homura. Motoyasu finally approached her, placing his hand on her shoulder.

“I wish I could’ve done more to help little Homura. Try to catch me before the next Wave, and I’ll see if I can’t help you out some then. See ya later.” With that and a small comforting pat on her shoulder, Motoyasu left to go meet up with his own party.

“Lady Akemi…” Amelia muttered softly, looking down slightly at her since her she was taller than the magical girl. Her hands were held in front of her chest, nervously. Homura was struck by how young the maid suddenly looked, maybe somewhere around 16 or so.

Holding her hand above the gem on her shield, she willed a gold coin to materialize from her shield and held it out towards the girl. “I apologize for doing that to you Amelia. While this does not make up for it, I feel it is a step in the right direction.”

With shaking hands, the maid hesitantly took the coin, looking unsure as if this were real or not. After Amelia held it firmly clasped in her hands that had returned to her chest, Homura pulled the cloak given to her by Ren closer to her. “Unfortunately, I must be leaving. I have to acquire at least one companion if I want to set out today.” Bowing to the maid once more, Homura turned around and left the castle herself, holding her cloak tightly closed. As she left the throne room, another servant approached her with a small bag tinkling with coins.

She however did miss Amelia reaching out towards her. “Lady Akemi…” she muttered quietly, watching the younger brunette leave.

P-*-*-*H

Homura flitted down the roads, keeping her new cloak close. She really needed to find somewhere close she could change. She was grateful that she had put what stuff she owned into her shield last night before she retired for bed. It meant that she didn’t have to return to that inn, that she couldn’t even remember how to get to from the castle.

Homura growled softly when a thick hand landed squarely on her shoulder, frustrated that everyone kept getting handsy with her, but she was surprised at the huge amount of strength in that grip. There was no way whoever had grabbed her was a low level. She could feel some pain in her shoulder even through her defense stat.

“Hold it right there, shield lass.” A voice spoke, undertones of anger in his voice. It was vaguely familiar to her. Looking down at the hand on her shoulder, seeing the dark tan and massive callouses, she recognized who had stopped her. It was the blacksmith, Erhard.

“What’s this I heard about you attacking your party member last night after abandoning her?” He asked firmly, turning her around to face him. The face he was making reminded her of a distant memory. It took a moment for her to place it. Her father. Looking disappointed at her after she had been caught lying when she was…6? Maybe 7? A time that seemed oh so long ago to the former time traveler. While the blacksmith’s face wasn’t exactly the same, angrier, it was uncomfortably similar.

“I did no such thing.” She defended herself, sounding offended and almost bratty even to her own ears. She still felt off kilter from the repeated jerking around this morning. “I was woken up by knights banging down my door, dragged through the streets in my gown, barefoot, thrown on to my knees in front of the _King_ and my fellow heroes, accused of a crime I _could not even commit_ and forced to attack someone who has only been helpful since I was summoned here to prove that I could not. And _all against my will_!” she snarled out.

Homura didn’t even notice she had begun shaking. All she felt was the slowly rising tide of anger and frustration and embarrassment that had threatened to swallow her. Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes which she tried to keep in. For once in so many timelines, she looked like a fourteen-year-old girl, dealing with something new that she didn’t know how to deal with, and frustrated and scared about it. Glaring up at the slightly shocked blacksmith that was still holding on to her shoulder but more gently now.

She watched his eyes look over her, stopping for a moment at her dirty bare feet. Finally, he relaxed and let out a sigh. “I believe you lass.” He finally said. He looked slightly ashamed, which gave Homura a small spark of vindictive pleasure. “Come on. I can let you clean up and change at my shop.”

The magical girl scowled slightly, before letting out her own sigh, feeling some of the emotions that had been building all day drain into an emotional numbness. Mumbling a soft, “Thank you,” she followed behind Erhard.

Soon, they had entered the shop that Homura had been in yesterday. Homura looked around, seeing mostly the same items, but she noticed that some were gone, and some new stuff was in their place.

“There’s a wash basin upstairs, second door on the right.” Erhard finally said. “Not quite as good as a bath, but it’ll do for now. I don’t think you want to bathe in my dirty smithing water.” He gave a bark of laughter at seeing the shudder from the girl before shooing her upstairs.

A short while later, Homura slowly walked downstairs, clad back in the armor she had bought, trying to finish getting herself back on kilter. She hated to say it, but she was missing Mitakihara. At least there she knew almost everything there was to know. Random events like that devil Oriko showing up were uncommon to the extreme after a few dozen repeats, let alone the amount she had done.

Finally walking back into the storefront, Homura saw Erhard manning the counter and approached him. “Ah! Shield lass, finally done I see. And would you look at that! Somehow got that armor back on! Good to see, I was afraid that it might’ve been stolen if it was left at the inn.” He greeted her, looking to be in a much better mood.

Homura contemplated whether to explain it to him or not. Deciding there wasn’t any harm, she held her hand over the gem once more and this time deposited a small bundle of herbs into her hand. “I can store pretty much anything in my shield. I put my clothes into it, just incase I had to leave quickly.” She explained. “Though…I was not planning on something like this morning happening.”

With a sigh, the blacksmith crossed his massive arm across his massive chest. “That’s a neat trick lass. Many times I wish I had a similar power back during my adventuring days.”

Homura stared at him for a minute. “Mister Erhard, would you mind answering a few questions I have?”

“Hmm? Sure, I guess that shouldn’t be a problem.” Kicking back against the wall, he focused on the little girl. “What you got?”

“First, is there any particular reason for this dislike for me that I’ve been seeing? I heard and saw a few strange things yesterday after leaving your store, and then this morning the _king_ called the knight captain out.”

Erhard scowled in response to that question before he rubbed his bald head. “I guess that’s understandable. Are you aware that a little over two decades ago Melromarc was at war with Siltvelt?”

Homura nodded in response. “It was bought up at the feast the night us heroes were summoned.”

“Well that makes it a bit easier. You see, demi humans in general, but Siltvelt especially, worship the Shield Hero as their personal god.”

Homura’s eyes widened in shock. _‘An entire country believes that I am there god?’_ The concept was mind boggling to her. Erhard nodded at her look.

“Yeah, well because of that belief, the Four Heroes Church that was the main religion at the time was converted into the Three Heroes Church and the Shield Hero cast as the Shield Devil.” He explained.

“While most people don’t put too much faith into that stance, there are some fanatical worshippers. Especially among veterans of that war, and their descendants.”

Homura groaned and covered her face with her hands. Not only was she considered a god, but of course she was also a devil. Why was it always like this?

Taking a deep breath to try and center herself after yet another bombshell being dropped on her, she rubbed her face tiredly. Long since done for the day before the sun had even peaked in the sky.

“The second thing I want to ask concerns something the king mention at the end of the trial.” She finally continued. “He mentioned that any future accusations against a hero would have to backed by a slave seal. What exactly is that?” Homura frowned at the blacksmith, expecting a certain answer but hoping she was wrong.

Erhard gave a heavy sigh, making a disgusted face at her question. “The answer to that goes back to the conflict between Merlomarc and Siltvelt. The two countries have been at arms pretty much since they were founded several iterations of Heroes ago by said heroes. Soon after their founding’s Melromarc developed a stance of human supremacy, while Siltvelt established demi human supremacy. This belief in the separate supremacies led to each side taking slaves from the other. To enforce the slavery with various methods to different severities, they applied a curse to the slave, a curse that has existed within magic circles for supposedly millennia, so no one knows the exact origins on it.”

Homura made a face similar to the blacksmith’s. She might not generally care for people, but slavery was something almost burnt into the modern person’s distaste. Erhard gave her a nod.

“Even to this day, slavery is technically legal within each country, and even most others practice it in some form or another. In Melromarc, they are supposed to be a source of easy physical labor. At least on paper. It’s something of an open secret that various tiers of royalty own, abuse and kill slaves for their own amusement. However, the king’s declaration is a bit more of an accepted practice by the common population. On imprinting a person with the slave seal, various restrictions can be placed on the slave. One such restriction is that they aren’t allowed to lie, and they’ll experience pain in relation to the severity of the lie. But it’s not an infallible practice, it still requires the one asking questions to be able to recognize lies of omission, or that what the person might think is the truth is not the actual truth, just how they perceive it.” He continued his explanation. “Most people still don’t like the idea of being someone’s slave, even if just for the duration of a trial.”

Homura nodded in understanding. It made a lot of sense, even if it still left a bad taste in her mouth at the idea. “I guess my last question is if you know somewhere I can pay for a companion?” She paused for a moment, something popping up in the back of her mind, something vaguely mentioned off hand by Sayaka. “Or maybe a pet monster that could fight for me? Either would work for me at the moment.”

Erhard scratched at his beard in thought. “Well for a companion, you could always try the Adventurer’s Guild near the castle. As for a monster, hmm….” He closed his eyes thinking, before snapping his fingers as he remembered, “There is a monster tamer that I remember hearing about. From what I know, he’s a bit…on the sketchy side. But the quality of his supplies are of good quality with a fair price. I think I can draw you a map.”

Digging around behind his counter, he eventually pulled out a roll of parchment and a quill with inkbottle. He quickly began to sketch out a very rough map, pausing every now and then as if thinking. After a few minutes he turned it around to show Homura. “So this might be off a bit, but if you go out the store and turn left you should be able to follow the map. The notches coming off of the lines are other roads to make it easy for you to count. Around the area the map ends you should hopefully see or find a circus tent. From what I’ve heard he’s one of the best [Monster Traders] in castle town. I also went ahead and marked the location of the Guild if you want to stop by there as well.”

Homura looked over it, memorizing it as much as possible before rolling it back up and tucking it into her belt pouch. “Thank you very much Mister Erhard.” She said with a bow. “I may come by with my new companion later today to get them outfitted properly if required. Otherwise I will try to stop by before the next Wave to make sure we have gear ready.”

Erhard gave a loud laugh. “Sounds good Shield Lass! I look forward to your continued patronage. Good luck on your journey!”

Homura bade goodbye to the blacksmith before finally leaving his store. She was glad that she could finally walk the town in her own clothes and not draw more attention than any other well-dressed adventurer, which were thankfully common enough here. Following Erhard’s directions, she turned left and followed the road, doing her best to follow his rough drawn map.

Soon she had entered a section of town that looked less well off. Not quite what she would call slums, but less flashy and showy as the main streets she had been on. Not trusting the people that she noticed lurking around, she drew her purple cloak tighter around her, and pulled the hood up to cover her hair and shield her face in shadow.

Continuing on the way, her eyes darting around, keeping an eye out for threats she saw what she would describe as a circus tent a ways off. It looked slightly off from her map, but she had been warned that it might.

Cautiously she approached, the area around her finally starting to look more like the slums of a medieval town. Suddenly she stopped a few steps away from the entrance to the tent. She felt a spark, a familiarity shooting through her magical senses in a way that she wasn’t expecting to encounter in this world.

A potential magical girl.

While it wasn’t exactly the same as what she was used to from Madoka and Sayaka, it was close enough to be unmistakable. She had used to think that what she was sensing was their capability to use magic, but now she knew better. There was something, she didn’t know what exactly, but to her it felt like a spark, that set apart a magical girl and a magic user.

The king had glowed brightly to her magic senses, wielding power on the level she had only associated with Madoka. The princess had glowed and felt remarkably similar to Kyoko in power. Even the three boys glowed faintly to her, the sense of magic there but unrefined.

But here in this tent she felt that same sense as the boys, but a spark that her brain could only connect to her friends. Her face settling into a small frown she finally pushed her way into the tent.

“Ooh, a customer? Welcome madam, to my Monster Tent!” a short, fat man crowed from the back of his tent. He was short for a man his age, maybe a bit shorter than Homura herself was. He wore a strange top hat and a feather lined cape over tuxedo style coattails. His face was chubby with his obesity and a strange mustache. Overall, the impression Homura got was something along the lines of slimy penguin.

Watching the man almost waddle over towards her did not help her impression.

“What can I help you with today ma’am?” he asked with a small bow, tipping off his top hat to reveal his bald head. Homura regarded him emotionlessly for a moment, before turning and walking away from him, observing some of the monsters he kept in cages.

“I am looking for something I can use as a mount, preferably one that can also fight for me. Ideally it would be able to carry at least two people.” She stated, keeping her voice level, and as detached as possible. This man set off many different alarms in her head to be warry around him. But she was also working to pinpoint the potential magical girl that she could now tell was vaguely below her, possibly in a basement of some sort. But she could also sense several other sources of magic of varying strengths below her as well.

“Well then you came to the right place! I’ve got many mounts you can choose from, in all their different stages of growth!” he cackled happily.

“Oh?” Homura made a sound of faint curiosity. She knew she couldn’t show much to this man for some reason, so she kept her hand close to her chest, metaphorically speaking. “Why would I want to buy a monster as anything less than full grown?”

“Hmm? You must be new to this business. But that’s alright, everyone has to start somewhere!” he crowed. “The reason is simple ma’am, the younger a monster is when you acquire them, the more likely they are to obey you. Why if you hatch one, then they can imprint on you right away and are the most likely to listen to you! It all depends on how immediately you want to be able to use your monster.”

That made sense. Didn’t someone mention to her that monsters and demi humans age as they leveled? If that was true, then if she waited the time period for the monster to hatch, she could level it up quickly and get it to an age where it was useable as a mount.

“And what kind of monster would you recommend?” she asked, stopping for a moment to stare at a weird snake monster in a glass cage.

“Well for your request, would I be able to interest you in a griffon?” he smirked at her. “They’re extremely well known to turn into powerful monsters, and one full grown can easily carry three or four people.” Homura glanced at the man before continuing on with her circuit of the tent interior. “And how much would such a fantastic beast cost me?”

The penguin like man held up his hand with all his fingers spread. “One griffon egg would cost you 5 Gold Coins!”

This time Homura couldn’t help but to stop and turn her head to look at him for a moment. Finally, she shook her head. “As nice as a griffon sounds, I am not made of money. What cheaper alternatives do you have?”

“Hmm, I guess the most reasonably priced one would be a Filolial.” He answered, lowering his hand, and putting it behind his back, grin still ever present on his face. 

“And what is a Filolial?”

“Ah, you’ve probably seen them around town. They’re the large birds that love to pull carriages.” He explained. “They’re known to be fast and literally live to pull carts and wagons. Even being known to die from sadness if they go to long without. Not many use them for combat, but they are known to have a fierce rivalry with dragons. So they must have combat potential.”

“Hmmm.” That all sounded acceptable to Homura. She stopped once more, seemingly observing a small monkey like creature that was watching her. But in actuality she found what she had been looking for this whole time. A trapdoor, peaking out under as rug that looked to have been hastily placed. “And how much will one of their eggs cost?” She kept up her act, even if she was actually interested.

“I can provide you with a Filolial egg for the simple cost of 100 silver. They’re fairly common monsters, and rarely worth anything to resale unless they’re raised as racers.” He chuckled, rubbing the top of his cane.

Homura gave a nod, before suddenly moving directly towards the trapdoor. Opening it swiftly she dropped down into the basement, the beast trader making a loud noise of startlement behind her.

Taking a quick look around, Homura saw her first few demi humans. Trapped in cages and clothed in rags. Slaves.

Keeping her distaste carefully off her face, she slowly began to head towards where she felt the spark. Behind her she heard the slave trader descend the stairs. “Ma’am! I really must request you warn me if you want to see my special wares!”

Homura didn’t stop, but her speed slow enough the fat man was able to catch up in short order. Huffing as he struggled to catch his breath. “If you were interested in a slave, Madam Shield Hero, you really should have just said so. I would’ve been more than glad to have shown you some of my wares.”

Glancing sharply at him at hearing her title be called, she bit her tongue from lashing out at him. “There is only one I am interested in. I do not yet know if I will…acquire them or not.” She informed. “Oh?” his grin grew even more disturbed.

P-*-*-*-H

Raphtalia coughed roughly into her first. Her entire body ached, but she no longer cared. Rifana’s death was fresh in her mind. Her failure to keep smiling, to have finally broken, ate away at her soul. She heard her Owner approaching, talking to someone, so she curled into herself slightly.

She heard the sharp footsteps of his companion walk up towards her cage. She began coughing roughly once again, her body shaking slightly in fear. She didn’t want to be sold again. Her young mind told her she’d die under her next owner for sure.

After a moment, the person spoke. “Little one.”

The voice of quiet, but there was strength and firmness within it. It also sounded younger than what she had been expecting. Feminine as well.

Raphtalia only curled tighter into herself in fear, even as her body was racked with coughs.

“I recently came into possession of that raccoon demi from her previous owner,” she heard her owner, the trader, tell the younger woman that apparently stood in front of her cage. “She has had a persistent cough that no amount of medicine I have given her has cured her. She also suffers from night terrors. Apparently, her screaming is why her first several owners sold her back. She’s likely to die in the next few days. If she’s lucky.”

Silence greeted the trader’s explanation.

“Look at me, little one.” The woman commanded this time, her voice still quiet but growing firmer.

Shakily Raphtalia slowly looked up as ordered, afraid the trader would punish her if she didn’t. Slowly the woman came into view.

Raphtalia couldn’t help but to gasp to herself. The young woman was beautiful. A dress that bought to mind fairies, a simple but elegant plate armor that only reinforced the idea. Silky black hair draped behind a heart shaped face. But that only barely registered to the young raccoon girl.

What captured her attention were those violet eyes.

Raphtalia was always told that she was a great judge of character. She always said it was because of people’s eyes. What she saw in those eyes scared her.

But they also drew her in.

On the surface, there was blankness, a mask hiding the woman from the world. But Raphtalia saw below that. She saw anger and frustration, at herself and at the world. Beneath even that she saw a sea of sadness that threatened to swallow her whole. Those things scared her.

But it was what beneath even that that drew her in. A flame. Of madness. Of insanity. Of love. It drove her. It drove this woman beyond things that had broken Raphtalia. It had forged this person, scarred her in a way that Raphtalia could barely begin to imagine. But Raphtalia wanted that strength.

She wanted to be able to burn through her own sea of despair that even now was trying to drown her in it’s depths.

“What is your name little one?” she was asked.

“Raphtalia,” she breathed in answer, not realizing she was still staring into those violet eyes, not even consciously realizing she had answered.

A moment passed.

“I’ll take her.”


	5. They Call It a Slave

** Chapter 5 – **

_ They Call It a Slave _

Homura looked down at the little girl staring up at her from the cage, subtly grinding her teeth, trying to keep her emotions from showing to the slave trader.

“Oh? You’ll take her? Then how does 100 silver sound?” he crowed happily. For a moment, the magical girl almost immediately accepted, but then she stopped. She’d heard of this kind of game; back and forthing over a price, overly high, overly low before settling on a number. Haggling wasn’t a skill most people in her world developed nowadays. Most people went to the store and just paid the price listed, but in this world haggling was much more common.

She regarded him for a moment. “20.” She finally offered. She’d heard it depended on the person, but typically offering something too low would be insulting. But considering the price she expected it to settle on, she felt comfortable with that price.

And wow didn’t she feel dirty, haggling the price of a life. Yet another new low for her. But she wanted more money to put towards outfitting the girl. So she would add yet another mark on her soul that she would have to pay back later.

The slave traders paused for a moment, his smile actually shrinking into almost a grimace. “You say you want the girl, then offer so little?”

Homura tilted her head to the side slightly, staring him down. “You yourself said that she would be lucky to survive a few more days. If I am to feed and nurse her back into a useable condition, that will require farther funds. Not to mention if she does truly have night terrors, then that is even more work that I will have to put into making her useful.”

Homura smirked internally at seeing his grimace. Apparently, he just realized what kind of mistake he had made, probably thinking of her as a child that would know no better. “40 silver then, madam.”

She contemplated it, it was already lower than the 50 silver she had be hoping to settle on. “30. No higher.” She put down instead.

Seeing him pursing his lips, she interjected before he could counter-offer. “Consider it me paying you for a defective product out of my good will. At least this way you’re guaranteed something from her other than an infected corpse.” God, she felt so _dirty_. It was so hard to ignore the coughing and whimpering coming from the cage behind her, as well.

Finally he started laughing loudly, slamming his cane on to the floor repeatedly. “Marvelous! Simply marvelous!” he cackled. Finally he looked at her over the rims of his glasses, his grin back on to his face. “You, Madam Shield, have all the qualities in a great customer. The good and the bad.” He crowed.

Once again, Homura struggled to keep her emotions from showing as she fought off the urge to shudder. _Slimy penguin_ indeed.

“Very well then. 30 silver for the young raccoon demi.” Clapping his hands, he stepped away from the cage as a large man stepped out from the shadows with a ring of keys. “If you’ll follow me, we shall prep for the slave binding ceremony. My assistant here will bring her behind us.”

Homura looked at the large man for a moment. “If she arrives in any condition than what she is in now, then you shall pay for the damage yourself.” Deciding the assistant suitably warned, she turned and followed after the slave trader.

Soon they arrived at a cleared-out section near where she had descended into this basement. She followed the penguin man to a crate that had a series of small bowls and brushes. Homura watched intently as the man grabbed an urn nearby that glowed faintly to her senses of magic. Nothing strong, barely registering at all, but still there.

The trader gave a small chuckle seeing her watching him as he poured a small amount of ink from the urn into one of the small bowls. After setting the urn back down her gestured to the bowl. “Now all I need from you Madam Shield, is a tiny bit of your blood mixed in with this here [Slave Ink]. Then we can apply it to the girl, and you shall receive the rights of her ownership.”

Homura frowned for a moment before pulling out the hunting knife she had bought yesterday. She regarded it for a moment, some part of her finding it amusing that the first blood she should be drawing with this knife is her own. Carefully she pricked the tip of her finger, feeling her shield stir but not react since she wasn’t technically being attacked. Drawing up a significantly large enough bead of blood she let it drop into the bowl of ink, which gave a soft purple glow for a moment before dimming.

Immediately after the glow faded, the assistant approached and grabbed the bowl and a brush before returning to Raphtalia who was currently shackled to the middle of the open area. Homura gave a noticeable small frown when he pulled the front of the dirty rags that could only barely be called a dress down, exposing the small girl’s chest. On her chest was a circle that vaguely looked like it consisted of three dragon heads trying to eat each other. The assistant painted over the existing pattern with the [Slave Ink].

As soon as he finished the last stroke, Raphtalia began to scream as the sigil begun to glow.

**{ Slave acquired. Now opening settings for conditions of use. }**

A window popped up in front of Homura, it consisted of a checklist of various restrictions that could be applied, level of punishment for breaking the restriction, and a spot for custom restrictions. When she tried to close the window without selecting anything, another message appeared.

**{ Error: Slavery requires a condition to be enforced. }**

Homura scowled internally and decided to check off the girl had to obey her orders or be lightly punished. After that the window finally closed, and with it the light coming from the sigil, and Raphtalia’s screaming. Underneath her mini status, Homura saw the slave sigil appear along with the name Raphtalia and a health bar.

The only time Homura had been more disgusted with herself was after killing Madoka to keep her from turning into a Witch that one timeline so long ago.

“The ceremony is now complete. Congratulations on your first slave, Madam Shield Hero.” The penguin cackled. “Now your payment if you don’t mind.”

Homura looked at him before pulling out 131 silvers from her shield and dropping it on to the crate next to them.

“Hmm? It appears you overpaid by a large amount…” he muttered confused. 

“30 silver for the girl. 100 silver for a Filolial egg. 1 silver for the leftover ink used in the ceremony.”

He looked at her curiously before he began cackling once again. “Oh, Madam Shield, if you’re not careful, I might start falling for you. I’ve never been one for younger girls myself, but for one of your absolutely exceptional quality, I might make the exception!”

Homura edged away from him slightly, her previously emotionless eyes narrowing into a glare. It only made him coo in delight. “Oh, such wonderful eyes. Is this what they call bloodlust?”

“My egg and the ink, trader.” She growled out softly. “Then I shall be on my way. I have far more important things that I must do today.”

All she got was a chuckle before the man guided her upstairs back to his more, _legitimate_ , business. Making sure Raphtalia was walking in front of her, Homura followed him upstairs and to a section of his tent that had an arrangement of eggs.

“While I usually would run a monster egg lottery, I like you enough that you can have your pick from my Filolial eggs. Yes ma’am.” He cooed at her.

Homura only gave him another small glare before gently pushing the slightly terrified raccoon up to the arrangement of eggs that looked about the size of ostrich eggs she’d seen on tv in her world. “Pick one for me Raphtalia.”

Raphtalia only looked at her confused, before grimacing and clutching at her chest in pain. Homura could only sigh to hide her wince. “It will only continue to hurt until you listen to me. It matters not to me which you pick, just please decide on one for me.”

Raphtalia turned and shakily reached out. The second she did so the pain from her seal eased away, and with it a part of her shaking. She looked unsure before suddenly grabbing one from the side at complete random.

Making sure to not drop it, she hesitantly pulled the large egg to her chest. Homura gave a small nod. “We’ll take that one then.”

The monster trader nodded before dipping the brush into the ink and painting a similar but different sigil on to the egg which only glowed faintly before dimming. Homura frowned when no pop up occurred this time.

Seeing this and guessing what it was about, the trader answered her unasked question. “What I just painted on the egg was a [Monster Crest], it’s similar to a [Slave Seal], but different. Without a [Monster Crest], it is near impossible to get a monster to listen to any commands, and completely impossible to get one into your party. However, until the monster hatches, there is nothing for the crest to actually latch on to. So until that time nothing will be added to your party list.”

Homura regarded him for a moment, before nodding. If he was lying, she would know where to find him. “And about how long until the egg hatches?”

“About 2 days once we put it into the incubator.” Was her answer.

Homura gave another nod. That made sense. “Raphtalia, please help the trader put the egg into an incubator. Then you can come back to me.” Seeing the girl begin to shake, Homura gace her a small smile. “Do not worry, I’ll be watching.”

Getting a hesitant nod in return, Homura watched her follow the monster trader. Keeping an eye on her as promised, she grabbed the bowl of little remaining ink and absorbed it into her shield.

**{ Slave User Shield I conditions met! }**

**{ Slave User Shield I**

**-Abilities Locked- Slave Growth Up (small) }**

Homura made a face at it’s abilities. That added an annoying wrinkle to her plan to release Raphtalia as soon as it was safe to. If her guess about what Growth Up was, between her Companion Shield I and this new Slave User Shield I, Raphtalia and possibly her Filolial would receive significant bonuses to their stats. The practical side of her brain said it was worth the tradeoff. But the side of her that was still a 14-year-old girl was beyond disgusted with the idea of owning slaves.

Plus, she still didn’t know if it was retroactively applied, or if it would stay or disappear upon loss of conditions. Just more wrinkles and complications. She of all people knew of the advantage of being as best prepared as possible.

She finally remembered that she didn’t actually check her Companion Shield I to see if it had been unlocked or not with everything that had happened this morning. So she quickly navigated to it in her [Weapon Book]. She was surprised to see that apparently the Slave User series was an off branch of the Companion series.

**{ Companion Shield I**

**-Abilities Unlocked- Companion Growth Up (small) }**

Well that was definitely a small relief. With a small grimace, she decided to change her shield into the Slave User Shield I, which looked like a small leather shield with a single small spike right in the middle. Even if Raphtalia did not stay as her slave for long to get or keep the bonus from the shield, then at least she’d have the few small points in defense added.

When she glanced back towards where the trader and Raphtalia had disappeared off to, she saw the little girl heading back towards her alone. In her arms hugged to her chest was the egg in a fancy glass container with a small timer on the top front. Homura gestured her to follow as she headed out of the tent.

“Madam Shield! Please make sure to come back and visit me, Beloukas! I look forward to continued patronage!” he crowed loudly to her from the back of the tent. Homura didn’t even deign to turn around and acknowledge him.

After a bit of walking, Raphtalia had a coughing fit that caused her to almost drop the incubator, but Homura luckily caught it in time. She couldn’t help but to give the girl a sharp look out of habit before snapping out of it when the girl shrank away.

“I’m so-sorry, Mistress,” more coughing, “I’ll try to be better.” Was faintly wheezed out.

Homura gave a soft sigh and reached out to gently pat the top of her head in a slightly awkward manner. “It’s fine Raphtalia. We just need to get you some of the proper medicine. Soon. For now, just follow me.”

After comforting the panicking girl, Homura carefully held the incubator in one arm while reaching into a pocket lining her cloak to dig out the map from Erhard. Consulting it and her memory for a moment, she nodded to herself before setting off.

She hoped the blacksmith would help her, and not hate her for saving the girl. Even if it was largely for selfish reasons. Or at least give her enough time to explain. She liked the blacksmith, he felt…almost like what an uncle should to her.

The return trip took less time than the initial walk over had. But by the time the two girls had arrived at the blacksmith’s, the sun was high in the sky. She hesitantly looked into the open door of his store, seeing him setting out a simple lunch on the counter for himself, the sight of it made her stomach growl, making her realize she had been forced to skip breakfast.

“Hmm?” looking up at hearing her stomach, Erhard looked puzzled for a moment before giving a big smile. “Shield lass! I wasn’t expecting to see you again so soon. What can I help you with? Did you bring me a companion to outfit?”

Watching him stand from behind his counter, Homura thought about just leaving. But she needed to get Raphtalia some armor and something to use as a weapon before they left. “Sort of.” She hedged as an answer.

Glancing behind her at the confused looking slave, Homura finally gave a sigh and decided to just bite the bullet. “Come on Raphtalia.” She directed as she walked into the store, watching the man’s face as the auburn haired girl hesitantly walked in, her eyes darting around nervously.

Erhard froze when he saw her. Her ‘clothing’ and general condition made it obvious what she was. His smile quickly changed into a frown. “Homura.” He ground out. That alone gave her an idea of how upset he must have been. “Please tell me I’m wrong, and that you did not get a _slave_ as your companion.” He ordered her.

The magical girl winced slightly. She wasn’t lying to herself when she said she liked the old man. He had been nothing but helpful, and she did not like burning helpful bridges without reason. “She is a slave. But only because it has not been safe to release her yet. I am in no place to try to challenge a deep-seated establishment like a slave trade at the moment. The fact that the man _you_ referred me to was an underground slave trader is not my fault.”

Erhard flinched slightly, not having expected that comment. Then frowning more when Raphtalia was cowering behind Homura, even as she looked startled at her owner’s comment about releasing her. “Well then, release her right now.”

Homura glanced down at her currently equipped shield for a moment, gathering her thoughts before turning around to face _her_ _slave_. “Raphtalia, I…want to say something before I continue.”

Raphtalia for her part only looked more confused, but still nodded. “What is it? ...Mistress?” the last part was added after a pause, as if she was unsure. Homura couldn’t keep the small grimace off her face at that term of address.

“I will release you from slavery if that is what you want. However…if I do so, and you choose not to accompany me, then it is possible you will only be recaptured and returned to slavery.” She decided to err on the blunt side, as she could no longer do gentle and subtle after being betrayed by her friends so many times. “But I will not force you to stay in my party and I will make sure you are nursed back to health. If you wish to remain in my party but be free, that is fine, but you will have to fight. I am incapable of hurting things on my own, however I swear that if you fight for me, then I will do my best to keep any harm from befalling you. If you choose to fight for me, and…are willing to stay my slave,” she could not believe she was about to say this, god she felt so _dirty_ , “then you will be even stronger than if you were not.” She finally got out.

Raphtalia looked even more confused, and more than a little scared. “What do you mean? Why can’t you fight by yourself? How would being your slave make me stronger?” she asked, coughing interrupting her periodically.

Homura merely held her shield up to her. “I was summoned to this world as the [Shield Hero]. The shield is a weapon of protection, and as such I have no attack power. So because of this I need someone to fight by my side. To be my Sword. But my shield also has special powers, one of them being that slaves that I own will have a larger increase in stats than a normal person would have.”

Raphtalia could only look at the beautiful fairy girl in front of her with shock, the earlier look of ‘worship’ returning to her eyes. “You’re…the [Shield Hero]?” she whispered, not registering Erhard’s choking sound of surprise while Homura did. “The [Shield Hero] saved me…?” Raphtalia bit her lip as she looked down, trembling.

As Homura hesitantly reached up to console the child, she screamed and slapped her hand away. “Why didn’t you come earlier?! Why did you save me and not Rifana?! What about my village?! My parents always said that the Shield Hero would arrive when we needed them most! So why didn’t you?!” Raphtalia then broke down and collapsed to her knees, her body racked by extremely rough coughs after forcing out her tirade.

Homura could only look at the broken child crying and coughing as the knives were driven into her heart repeatedly. _‘Useless. Worthless. Good-for-Nothing. Never able to be on time to help those that need you, even when you had all the time in the world.’_ After a moment she knelt by the young girl and hugged her gently, a few tears slipping from her eyes.

“I am sorry. But I was only summoned a couple of days ago. Before that, I was busy trying to save another young girl from a fate worse than death.” She murmured, stroking her tangled and matted auburn hair gently.

Raphtalia could only cry harder, burying her face into the cold metal breastplate Homura wore. Homura couldn’t make out exactly what was being said, but it sounded almost like names. So she just let the girl cry, while hesitantly stroking her hair.

It was a while later before the tears stopped, and the girl went quiet except for the occasional cough and sniffle. “Mistress Shield Hero…” Raphtalia finally muttered out. “If I fight for you…will I be strong enough to keep other kids from going through what I did?”

“If that is what you want.” Homura answered without hesitation. “Then I will gladly help you accomplish your goal. It will be the least I can do for not saving you and your village earlier.”

Raphtalia nodded into her breastplate slowly. “And if I stay your slave, I’ll be even stronger?”

Homura hesitated a moment, this was an answer she wasn’t as sure on. “I believe so. I am admittedly new to all of this, so I can only go based off of my understanding of things.”

Raphtalia quieted in thought, her body still racked by an occasional cough. “Then for now I will stay as Mistress’ slave.” She finally answered. “Just please…. don’t leave me….” She whispered pleadingly. So quietly that Homura almost missed it.

Homura’s heart broke a little bit once more. She’d never been in a position like this before. Is this…how Mami felt? Whenever a new magical girl is broken by the reality of the job? ...Why she had snapped and killed the others once she’d realized what curse she had guided several of them into? If so, she understood her first true senpai a little bit better than she had ever expected to.

“I promise Raphtalia. As you accept me as your Shield, then so I accept you as my Sword.” She finally answered.

After that she stood up from the floor, gently helping the mentally exhausted child stand as well before turning to face the blacksmith that had been watching silently. The face he was making was…complicated. It was frustrated, angered, proud, upset and resigned. Homura was sure that if she wasn’t so emotionally spent as well, her face would be similar. “Mister Erhard, would it be possible if I take Raphtalia upstairs to clean her up?”

When both girls’ stomachs made their opinions known about plans, Homura couldn’t help the dusting of pink on her cheeks. “And would I be able to bother you to get us something to eat? It does not have to be anything fancy. Some bread will be more than fine if you have any. I promise I’ll pay you for it and buy some gear when we’re done.”

Erhard gave her a hard look before giving a loud sigh. “Yeah, sure, whatever. You know where my wash basin is at lass. Go get the girl cleaned up.”

Bowing deeply to the old man in gratitude, she guided Raphtalia up the stairs to the room she had been in just this morning. Once getting her settled down she grabbed a nearby rag and began to scrub at and clean her slave. Doing what she could with a bit of water and her fingers to try and deal with the girl’s hair without a brush. Eventually deciding it was largely a futile effort, she took her knife to the girl’s bushy mess of hair and trimmed it around her shoulders. That left what was left at least most savable for the time being.

If she was going to keep this girl as slave, _she felt so dirty_ , then she was going to take better care of her than she did herself. Maybe that would alleviate some of the guilt, even if it was technically the little girl’s choice.

Meanwhile the girl being cleaned was in slight shock. Every time she tried to do something herself, her new Mistress would stop her. It reminded her of Big Sis Sadeena visiting when she was younger. The older girl’s hand definitely were able to clean and untangle everything better than she would’ve been able to. Then Homura began cleaning her tail. Raphtalia tried to get away, but then she was ordered to stay still while her tail was cleaned. While the pain was nowhere near as intense as she was used to, that didn’t mean she enjoyed the pain. So all she could do was blush heavily as her tail was cleaned. She didn’t know why; all she knew was that it felt really good but really awkward. 

Homura looked down at the pile of hair she had left on the floor, Raphtalia pressed against the wall while hugging her damp tail protectively with a blush on her face. _‘She must be ticklish or something. If she had just stopped fighting me earlier, it would have been done earlier.’_ She thought to herself, trying to decide what to do with the hair. As she reached down to start picking it up, her shield’s jewel gave off a soft glow.

“Hmm?” deciding to give it a try, she slowly swept her shield over the hair. With a sight that had become familiar yesterday, she watched the hair get absorbed in the shield. After it had finished, she heard a chime that said she had met the requirements to unlock a new shield but was not at a high enough level.

Pulling up her [Weapon Book] she noticed the second shield in the Slave User series was lit up but still locked. _‘Does that mean new Slave User shields are unlocked by absorbing parts from my slave?’_ Homura made a small face as that thought followed itself to the logical conclusions. _‘What would happen if I absorb a slave’s entire body?’_ She shuddered and swept that thought immediately into the closet and slammed the door tightly shut.

She might be sinking to new lows, but that was a thought that she was better not off continuing with.

Finally done she turned and faced Raphtalia and gave her a good look over. Nodding to herself, she was satisfied for now about how she looked. “Now we will go downstairs and see about getting you some better clothes and some armor from Mister Erhard.” Raphtalia gave a nod of understanding.

“Then lets go.” Setting her hand on the raccoon girl’s shoulder she walked her back downstairs, staying close and trying to be comforting to the girl who had started shaking slightly. As they came from the stairwell, Homura saw what looked like some bread and jerky sitting on the counter near Erhard. It wasn’t much, but considering it was last minute and he couldn’t really shut down his store just to feed them, it was something. For that she was grateful.

Hearing them approach, the blacksmith turned and regarded the two girls. Homura saw that he had apparently already finished eating his lunch and had been waiting for them to return. After looking Raphtalia up and down for a moment, he finally spoke. “Well it seems like you’re at least trying to take care of her lass. Now we just need to get her some actual clothes.”

After her finished speaking, a woman walked into the store. She looked like a very average woman, nothing really stood out to Homura except for the clothes she held in her arms. “I’ve got those clothes you asked me to go get Erhard.” The woman said as she walked up and set them on the counter. She stopped and stared at Raphtalia for a moment. 

“I can see why you asked me to get these now.” She spoke, sounding a bit concerned for the girl. 

“Thank you, Lisa. Keep the change for helping me out. I’m sure the lass will pay me back for helping out.” Erhard told her. With a nod, she turned and left, and as she did Erhard grabbed the clothes off the counter and handed them to Raphtalia. “Here you go little lady. The changing room is right there. Why don’t you go get changed while I have a… _talk_ with your _Master_.”

Raphtalia looked conflicted as she accepted the clothes before looking at Homura, who gave her a nod. “Go ahead Raphtalia. Take your time and make sure they fit well with a bit of room to grow.” Hesitantly, she gave a nod before heading into the changing room.

The blacksmith and magical girl watched her and once the heavy door closed behind her, Erhard turned and gave Homura a hard look. “A _slave_? I sent you off to see about getting a _monster_ to raise, and you come back with a monster egg and a _slave_?”

Homura pursed her lips before sighing. “I hate myself enough without you helping me Mister Erhard.” She would not admit a small part took a bit of vindictive pleasure at watching him reel back from her statement, but she kept staring at the door the young raccoon was behind. “Honestly, had I not sensed her I might have never discovered that the monster trader was really a slave trader. But before I even entered his tent, I could sense her potential.”

“Potential?” he questioned, leaning his back against the counter and crossing his tree trunk like arms across his massive chest.

“In my world, there are girls that are…special. Magic is an exceedingly rare thing in my world, to the point that most people assumes it does not exist. The only ones who can even use magic are these special girls. I happen to be one of them.” She started to explain.

“So what? You sensed that the girl could use magic?”

“It’s more than that. Had you asked me that before I had been summoned to this world, I would have said yes. But I have come to learn that there is something…different. I have met and seen several people that I could tell are magic users like the King or at least capable of it like the other heroes. But Raphtalia has this… _spark_ that they all lack. And it is that spark that I have come to associate with us special girls.”

“I see.” He muttered. “And what exactly is this ‘spark’?”

“Honestly, I am unsure. That is part of why I… _purchased_ her.” She ground out the last part, obviously distasteful about it. “But I had not been expecting to find it here in this world. So I was shocked when I sensed it, so I followed it once I realized it was below his shop. It was then that I found out about his slave business. I am not stupid. I knew what he would do if I had tried to forcibly free them. As it is, I am lucky that he did not have me killed as soon as I invaded his cellar. So I decided to pay, because at least I could save _her_.”

Erhard regarded her for a long while before sighing. “While I’m not happy about it, I can understand your reasoning lass. But you had better take care of her better than you take care yourself, _understood_?” He gave her a firm glare.

Homura bit down a small snort, his glare had nothing on the madness that a [Labyrinth] forces on to a person, so it was cute to her. But she nodded anyways. “Good. Now then, what’s this about a special power from your shield that makes her stronger?”

Homura held up the shield on her arm to show him. “The [Legendary Weapons] can unlock new forms by absorbing materials. I purchased the remaining [Slave Ink] that was used in her ceremony because I did not trust the trader with it. To make sure no one could use it I absorbed it into the shield. This form was the apparent result, the Slave User Shield I. It has a power called ‘Slave Growth Up(small)’.”

Erhard made a sound of surprise and lurched forward. “You mean you just got here two days ago and already have an item that gives Growth Up?!”

Homura looked at him curiously. “I technically have two that I can use right now, and another possible three once I meet the level requirements.”

The blacksmith only made a sound like she was strangling him, his hand reached out towards her shield and shaking. “F-five?! Do you know how many adventurers would _kill_ for one, let alone five?!” he exclaimed.

Homura could only tilt her head to the side in confusion? Was it really such a big deal? “Are Growth Up items rare then?” His initial answer was merely a scoff. “They’re one of the rarest yet highly sought after items by armies let alone adventurers. So the fact you’re not even level 5 yet and have access to two, probably 5, and potentially more,” he gave a sigh. “That puts into perspective for me just why we need the heroes if that’s what they’re capable of as soon as arriving. I can hardly begin to imagine what will happen once you class up, never mind if you get near my level.”

Before Homura could comment farther, the door to the changing room slowly cracked open. A hesitant Raphtalia poked her head out from behind the door. “Mistress, is it…is it really okay for me to be wearing these?” She asked, her coughs wracking her body every so often. Homura frowned slightly, making a note to head to the apothecary immediately after finishing here.

“Yes Raphtalia. It is important that you are dressed appropriately to be my companion. And _please_ , call me Homura.” _‘It is the least I can do for keeping you as a slave.’_ she thought to herself. “Now, please come here. We need to fit you with some kind of armor and a weapon.”

Raphtalia’s face filled slightly with fear at being told she was going to be given armor and a weapon, she knew that she had accepted to fight, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t scared. Still she hesitantly made her way towards the other two in the shop. Homura regarded the clothes Erhard had picked for the small girl. The consisted of a pin striped long sleeve beige shirt and a mostly black over dress with a red front panel. Some simple black tights and black leather boots finished it off. Homura frowned at the slightly rusted shackles that she wore almost like bracelets.

“Mister Erhard, would you be able to remove those shackles off of her?” Homura asked.

“It might take a bit to do it in a way that won’t hurt her, but yeah. It’d be doable.” Was her answer.

Homura frowned slightly, before giving a sigh. “Would it be alright if we came by after dinner this evening? We still need to go get her some medicine from the apothecary and I want to hunt some monsters in the field before the sunsets tonight.” Grabbing the bread and jerky off the counter, temporarily ignoring the little girls terrified shaking at having her fears confirmed.

Tearing them into purposely uneven halves, Homura offered the girl the larger pieces. “Go ahead and eat up. You will need your strength for the medicine and monsters.” Raphtalia looked at them as she took the pieces of food in shaking hands, watching her owner start eating the smaller pieces. Expecting her portion to be taken away. “What are you waiting for?” she was startled when her Mistress spoke up.

“Umm…is it…really ok for me to eat this Mistress Ho-Homura?” she asked, stumbling at suddenly remembering that she was told to address her by name. Homura could only sigh, _‘Baby steps. Remember, baby steps.’_ “Yes. Now please eat so Erhard can help us.”

At hearing the affirmation that her food wasn’t going to be taken, Raphtalia began to quickly eat her food. It was bland and hard. But it was food, and she hadn’t realized how hungry she was.

Erhard watched her eat quickly, recognizing that she was afraid her food would be stolen, and turned to face Homura. “So, Shield Lass.” Once Homura turned her attention to him, he leaned on to his counter once again. “Any other fancy powers your shield has that you don’t mind sharing?”

The young brunette bit her lip in thought, trying to decide if it was better to tell him or not. Coming to a decision, she stepped around the shop counter into the store proper. Walking to a nearby shield hanging on the wall, she reached out and lightly laid her hand on the cold iron. A rush of magic shot through her arm from the shield.

**{ Weapon Copy system activated.**

**Iron Shield conditions unlocked.**

**Red Iron Shield conditions unlocked.**

**Pink Iron Shield conditions unlocked.**

**White Iron Shield conditions unlocked.**

**… }**

On and on the shields went, all of the variations of the Iron Shield unlocking just from the main iron shield. Homura’s eyes widened in surprise, not having expected that. She noticed a new notification flag next to her [Help Menu]. She quickly navigated to it. 

**{ Master Weapon Form**

**Some weapon forms exist in the world that when unlocked forcibly unlock all variations of the weapon within the tree. Some unique abilities exist within the various forms, but when all variations would share the same ability, it will be attached to the Master Weapon form if not previously unlocked. Some forms may only ever be unlocked from a Master Weapon. }**

_‘So the Iron Shield must have been one of these Master Weapon forms.’_ She thought to herself, quickly looking at a few of the colored iron shields, and seeing that they only provided small stat boosts, mainly to her defense, but some increasing her strength. After that she pulled up the Iron Shield.

**{ Iron Shield**

**-Abilities Locked- Equip bonus: [Shield Bash] skill**

**Mastery: 0 / 100 }**

_‘At least one of them provided a new skill.’_ Realizing she’d been standing there touching the shield on the wall for a minute, she turned to face the blacksmith. Seeing him looking confused, she held her hand over her shield and with a thought it flashed into an exact copy off the shield on the wall, except with her shield’s jewel in the dead center.

“Sorry, I got distracted reading some of the information that came up.” She walked back up to the counter, ignoring Erhard’s gob smacked expression. She changed her shield back into the Slave User Shield I, wanting to get the ability unlocked as soon as possible. “That was an ability called [Weapon Copy]. It allows me to copy any shield that I come into contact with if I have never encountered it before.” She exclaimed.

Open and closing his mouth several times, trying to decide how to react, he suddenly closed his mouth with a click of his teeth, a look of anger or frustration coming on to his face. “And all the heroes can do that?” he asked. Homura nodded, “With their own weapon forms of course, but yes.”

Erhard nodded a few times, before suddenly slamming his hands on the counter and yelling. “Those rotten heroes! The come in, pick up almost everything they can get their hands on then just leave without a word! ‘Oh we’re just looking, no need to help us’ my ass!” Raphtalia squeaked loudly and flinched away in fear at his sudden outburst.

Seeing that Homura glared at him, making him flinch once he realized his mistake. Taking a deep breath, he rubbed the back of his bald head. “Thank you for telling me about this. Even if I know they didn’t take the actual piece, it still feels like they’re stealing my works from me.” Giving a sigh he looked over at Homura. “I’ll let you copy all of the shields in my shop. Consider it my helping you to save this world. Though in exchange, you and your party will only do business with me for all your gear. Got it lass?”

Homura nodded. It was a fair request, in exchange for getting her weapons for free here, she had to buy all of the rest of their gear from him so he made money anyways. She could steal her weapon forms from other shops if it was needed anyways.

“Now that you’re done surprising me, I hope.” Getting a look from the blacksmith, Homura could only shrug in response. Grumbling, he gestured to Raphtalia, “I think it’s time that we get the little lady some gear to help you out.” Squatting down in front of her, he held out his hand. “Can I see your main hand Raphtalia?”

Glancing at Homura, who nodded at her, she shakily held her right hand out to the big blacksmith. Gently taking her hand he turned it over a couple of times before squeezing a few different spots. “Well I think you’ll definitely do best with a sword once you’ve grown a bit. But because of your size right now, I think you should use a knife, maybe a short sword.”

With a hesitant nod of understanding, she pulled her hand back to her chest, her tail flicking nervously underneath her dress. Homura walked over and set her hand on the girl’s shoulder. “It is alright Raphtalia. I promise that I will protect you with everything I can.”

Raphtalia looked up and stilled once she made eye contact with Homura. The magical girl maintained eye contact with her but after a moment narrowed her eyes in confusion, making the raccoon girl flinch slightly and turn her gaze shyly to the floor. After a while, Erhard came back to them with what looked like a small leather breast plate, some long leather gloves and a short sword with a blade about 45 cm (18 in) in length, honestly more of a long knife than an actual short sword.

“I don’t have much on hand for smaller people, but these basic pieces should work while you’re still growing. Once your age and level even out, then we can see about getting you properly outfitted.” He said setting the equipment on the counter. Handing Raphtalia the pieces, Homura helped her put them on and fasten them in place. “Just some simple leather armor and an iron short sword with a blood clean coating.”

“Blood clean?” Homura asked.

“That’s right lass. Causes blood and gore to just slide off the blade, keeps it from rusting and sharper for longer. Still have to sharpen it periodically though.” Erhard answered. Homura nodded, she was unfortunately familiar with how visceral material ate away at any weapon. To think this place had magic to help deal with that. _‘Convenient.’_

Seeing Raphtalia was properly equipped now, he then pulled off some simple maintenance items that were already in a neat little bundle. “Now with all that, this here maintenance kit, her clothes, the food, my washroom and half of my sanity.” Homura flinched slightly, realizing just how much she’s inconvenienced him today alone. “50 silver should be enough.”

With a small sigh, Homura pulled out the requested amount from her shield and arranged it out on the counter in five stacks of ten coins. After getting a nod from him at the payment, she grabbed the kit and deposited it into her shield.

**{ Sharpening Shield conditions met. }**

Blinking at the sudden pop up, she pulled up her [Weapon Book].

**{ Sharpening Shield**

**-Abilities Locked- Equip Bonus: Ore Appraisal +1**

**Equip Effect: Automatic Sharpening (8 hours) heavy consumption }**

Regarding the equip effect closely, she figured that it would sharpen weapons for her without any action over the course of 8 hours. What heavy consumption meant however, she didn’t know and wouldn’t until she got a chance to experiment with it. She must’ve unlocked it from the sharpening stone in the maintenance kit. Again, _‘Convenient.’_

“Thank you for your assistance, Mister Erhard.” Homura said, giving him a respectful bow. Then gave Raphtalia a sharp look from the corner of her eye. Realizing what she was being told, she scrambled next to her Mistress and bowed towards the blacksmith but deeper than Homura. “Thank you very much Mister Erhard.”

His only response was a loud booming laugh. “Not a problem ladies. Just make sure to take care of each other for me, and come back soon! Now get going. You still need medicine and real food before you go hunting for the night!” He waved them both off, watching them turn and leave with conflicted feelings.

P-*-*-*-H

Homura first led Raphtalia to the apothecary from yesterday, who was surprised to see them, but quickly accepted once Homura gave a quick rundown. When Homura offered him a large collection of the herbs she had spent picking yesterday he regarded them for a moment, looking several different bunches over.

Eventually he split the pile roughly in half, reached under his counter to pull out a well-worn book and a simple set of equipment: a mortar and pestle, a small glass distillery set and some other miscellaneous items. “This is a beginner’s book on potion brewing and also serves as an introductory passage to alchemy. If you can pick ingredients of this quality at your age, it would be criminal to not teach you to put these talents to use. I will accept half of these herbs as payment for the book and equipment.” He explained before shooting a glance at Raphtalia, who was still looking green in the face after taking the apparently bitter medicine for her cough. “One of the first recipes is the medicine I gave your party member. These herbs serve as a primary ingredient. Practice for her if nothing else.”

After thanking him and paying him for the initial bit of medicine and things they bought for Raphtalia, she then headed to a general store that he directed her to. There she bought a chunk of equipment that would allow them to travel on the road significantly easier until the Filolial egg was old enough to pull a carriage. Which was going to be yet another expense, even if a welcome one. The final stop they made on the way to the gate to leave town was for some food. Just some simple kabob like items from a cart near the gate.

Homura watched the little girl scarf down her third kabob in just as many minutes. Her complexion was already looking much better, and her coughing had abated aside from the rare tiny one that came out. It would be important that she didn’t push the little girl to much while she was recovering.

“Alright Raphtalia. That is enough for now.” Raphtalia looked up at her Mistress in confusion for a moment, before her tail snapping straight in fear for a moment, lowering her head slightly, thinking she was being admonished. “Yes, Mistress Homura.”

Homura could only shake her head, it felt so _awkward_ being called Mistress. But twice more since she was first told, she refuses to drop it. ‘ _Because it would be disrespectful’_ , she had said. So Homura just decided to let it go for now. “I am not mad Raphtalia, but I do not want to risk you getting sick while out in the field.” Getting a small, hesitant nod, the little girl began to relax.

Only to suddenly flinch with a small shriek when Homura snatched an Orange Balloon out of midair when it tried to attack Raphtalia, who stared at it shaking in fear. “M-m-monster!” she exclaimed in fear.

Homura gave a small frown. “Yes, and while I am here, it will not hurt you.” Waiting for the girl to get her shaking under control, she finally ordered the girl. “Now, draw your sword and stab this balloon.”

Nodding, she shakily drew her sword. Homura frowned at the poor grip she had, and before Homura could correct it the girl stabbed at the balloon. Just like with Myne, _Malty_ , yesterday the balloon died with a resounding pop.

**{ EXP +1 }**

**{ Raphtalia EXP +1 }**

So Homura would also see when Raphtalia gained experience from a kill. Turning to look at the girl who had dropped her sword when the balloon popped, was just staring at her empty hand in shock. “I…just killed a monster?” she sounded so shocked.

Homura gave a small sigh, before hesitantly reaching out and patting her on the head, rolling her shoulders slightly to adjust for the incubator strapped to her back with a length of rope. “You did good Raphtalia. But I need to teach you the basics before we move on. The last thing I want it for one of us to end up hurt because you were not taught properly.” Gesturing to the short sword that lay in the grass. “Now pick up your sword. We will practice on the balloons. Make sure to follow my instructions as best as you can.”

Raphtalia gave a nod. More confident this time, starting to realize that maybe, _just maybe_ , she could actually become strong.


	6. Bonding

** Chapter 6 – **

_ Bonding _

Homura watched Raphtalia diligently hunt down the variety of balloons in the field around them. Her technique and form still needing refinement but much better after about 30 minutes of proper training, she was at least a lot less likely to hurt herself and or lose her weapon.

“Raphtalia,” she called over to the girl who had started to get a bit away in her new exuberance for hunting. When the little girl had turned around and noticed, she squeaked and quickly returned to her side. “I’m sorry Mistress Homura.” Raphtalia muttered while looking down at the ground.

“It is alright, you are young and eager. That is good. But remember that it is harder for me to protect you the farther away from me to you are.” Homura gently chastised. Glancing at her party status, she saw that Raphtalia was already level 2, and progressing well towards level 3, while Homura herself was now about a quarter of the way to level 4. Leveling was so much easier with a party member that was willing to fight.

Getting a nod from the raccoon girl, Homura looked toward the forest, contemplating. “I do not want to push your illness to much. Do you feel comfortable with pushing into the forest a bit more? We are starting to receive less experience from these balloons, and there are likely to be stronger monsters into the forest.”

Raphtalia looked scared for a moment at the thought of fighting stronger monsters, before firming herself and nodding. “I can handle it Mistress!” she claimed resolutely.

Homura regarded the girl for a moment, who was staring up at her imploringly, trying to project her confidence. Finally giving a small sigh of acceptance, Homura nodded. “If you are sure then. But please try to stay close to me. I do not know how much stronger the monsters will be.”

Getting a nod of understanding, she led them into the tree line of the forest. For a bit, it was just more balloons, but it wasn’t before long that they came across something new.

“Is that…a mushroom?” Homura couldn’t help but ask, bewildered. It looked like a large stereotypical mushroom, mostly white in color, and had a face similar to the balloons. It’s name popped up above it, Loomush.

Definitely a monster then. Homura couldn’t stop her eye from twitching. It felt like a joke. Like the entire world was just playing a joke on her. Granted she had fought weirder minions while hunting Witches, it was the point of the matter. They were manifestations of a magical girls despair. These were monsters that attacked people in another world.

“Raphtalia, please…just kill it to save my sanity.” The little girl looked confused before doing as ordered. It was sliced up in a manner remarkably similar to a normal mushroom. It did not protect Homura’s sanity.

With a sigh as she slowly began to accept that her sanity was not going to be saved anytime soon, she knelt down and absorbed the sliced-up mushroom pieces.

**{ Mush Shield conditions met. }**

**{ Mush Shield**

**-Abilities Locked- Equip Bonus: Plant Appraisal +1 }**

Homura looked at her newly unlocked shield’s ability. That would be useful if she was going to continue making medicines. Which if she was being completely honest with herself, she was unsure of. But it would be nice to make something other than bombs for a while.

Standing up, she looked at Raphtalia who was keeping an eye out for other monsters, having gotten used to the sight of Homura absorbing things into the shield fairly quickly. Both of them hearing a rustling, turned around and saw a few Bluemushes and Greenmushes. Homura cursed this world once again, before directing Raphtalia to kill them, while absorbing their remains.

**{ Blue Mush Shield conditions met. }**

**{ Green Mush Shield conditions met. }**

**{ Blue Mush Shield**

**-Abilities Locked- Equip Bonus: Simple Compounding Recipes +1 }**

**{ Green Mush Shield**

**-Abilities Locked- Equip Bonus: Apprentice Compounding }**

Homura narrowed her eyes at the ability pop ups. Did this mean that she would learn how to make some simple items if she equipped these shields? Almost immediately after that thought, she received the notification sound that her Slave User Shield I had finished unlocking. Quickly changing to the Blue Mush Shield, which looked like a 2D cartoon version of the monster she got it from, Homura blinked rapidly as it felt like the information on how to compound a few simple kinds of medicine seemed to just imprint into her brain. Deciding to test out her theory, she changed to the regular Mush Shield, and had to hold her head for a moment when the knowledge seemed to just disappear while she had been trying to think over it.

Wasn’t that such a weird feeling. With a sigh, she changed back to the Blue Mush Shield, hoping it would be the most immediately useful and would not take long to unlock. Tapping her fingers on the edge of her shield in thought for a moment she looked around. She stopped when she found some place that would work for her plans.

“Raphtalia.”

“Yes Mistress?” the little girl seemed to appear right in front of her once she was called for. Homura had to blink in slight surprise. “I am going to go sit over there,” she gestured to the spacious enough, mostly flat area around a large tree, “and work on making some medicine. I am going to trust you enough to stay close enough to me if you need anything, while you continue to hunt monsters in the area. Retreat back to me if you see anything other than Loomushes or Balloons, or if you become overwhelmed. Do you understand?”

Raphtalia looked a bit startled before nodding resolutely, “Yes Mistress! I’ll make sure to kill lots of monsters for you!” Homura nodded. “I hope so Raphtalia. And please make sure you bring back all the monsters you kill. We do not want anything rotting or drawing in other monsters.” She got another nod in answer, if slightly confused.

Walking over and sitting on the ground, Homura leaned back against the tree behind her. Pursing her lips, she pulled out the book she was given from the apothecary and her letter chart. When she went to open her book, she noticed a new icon was illuminated in her [Status Menu]. Tilting her head to the side curiously, she noticed it had a symbol like a hammer and anvil. Deciding to see what it was she opened the window. 

**{ Crafting Menu**

**Available skills: [Artificer], [Compounding] }**

Homura blinked in confusion, but noticing that the skills were selectable like in her [Help Menu], she clicked on Compounding since that was the one she was trying to work on. 

**{ Compounding Menu LV 1**

**Available Recipes: [/Medicine/], [/Healing Medicine/], [/Basic Cold Medicine/], [/Nutritional Supplement/] }**

Crossing her arms as she glared at her menu, compounding book in her lap, she looked over the selections in front of her. They had markings similar to her [Time Manipulation] that was currently sealed, but unlike that skill which was greyed out, these were still lit up and selectable. Glancing down at her shield, she had the thought. Didn’t her Blue Mush Shield she currently had equipped give Simple Compounding Recipes? Maybe that’s what she was seeing here, she could only use them while she was using this shield or learned them herself.

Deciding to select the general medicine as a practice, it pulled up a list of the required materials, the amounts of said herbs she had in her inventory and in what qualities. Below that it listed the steps to make it. Then right below that it had another selectable option, **{ [Craft] x _ 1_ ? }**.

Hesitantly she selected the craft option, she flinched slightly when another pop up startled her, asking to select the desired herbs to be used. Selecting some of her poorest quality herbs just in case, she confirmed her choices. A progress bar replaced the [Craft] option and after a minute the bar disappeared and returned to normal and got a new pop up.

**{ Medicine successfully created! }**

**{ Medicine: quality: normal, helps cure sickness although not very effective on serious sickness. }**

Homura was interested at this. Opening her inventory, she located the newly created [Medicine]. Apparently, her shield could create things for her. But she wanted to test it out. Navigating back to her crafting menu, she selected a couple of her better herbs. If her shield could make normal quality medicine out of poor herbs, what could it do with excellent ones?

**{ Medicine: quality: normal }**

Testing it one more time, this time again with poor herbs.

**{ Medicine: quality: normal }**

It appeared that her shield could only output crafted items at normal quality. That would be useful for using up her poor-quality materials. But would that mean that she could make better ones herself. With a sigh she pulled out the crafting items she was given by the apothecary that the recipe said would be required and used some of her normal quality herbs for a practice. Fairly confident in her skills after years of repeats in making bombs.

**{ Medicine: quality: good }**

So she was right. Sighing at the fact that she’d of course have to put in the work to get the best results, she noticed something slightly curious on her [Crafting Menu]. A bar had appeared at the top of her menu and had filled in just the tiniest bit with her crafting the medicine herself. Was that experience, but for her [Compounding] skill?

Once again testing it out, she crafted another medicine, this time only getting a normal quality. The bar had increased, but not as much as the previous one. So quality effected the amount of experience her skill would get.

What was it that Kyoko was always complaining about why games like this world sucked? Grinding? If this feeling of wanting to improve it for some since of pride and efficiency despite the sheer scope of the effort required was what motivated people into grinding, she could understand Sayaka’s stance on it. And wasn’t that a thought that she would ever deny having.

Sighing once more she opened her book and painstakingly set her mind to translating at least the titles of all the recipes, slapping down notes of the translations in Japanese to save her time later while she was still learning the language.

Turns out the book had several recipes in it that her shield didn’t unlock yet, and she made sure to mark those as important. 

It was a while later, when she was preparing to call for Raphtalia, having been keeping a vague eye on her, watching her experience tick up steadily that the next bit of excitement came in for the night. Raphtalia was running back towards her, carrying a large leather bag filled with various monster bits, a panicked expression on her face and chasing behind her was…an angry rabbit with red glowing eyes?

“Mistress! Help me!” the little raccoon girl cried out. Running to hide behind Homura, the magical girl caught the rabbit midair by it’s ears. Homura glared distastefully at it, some vague part of her being reminded of the Incubator. “Raphtalia.”

Hearing her Mistress call for her, she fearfully looked up, cringing when the angry rabbit attempts to lunge at her. Homura frowned at the scared little girl, before it hit her like a speeding truck. This was a little girl, who had probably been an orphan, been in slavery for who knows how long and had probably never fought before today. And here she was, about to ruin that shred of innocence, to force this girl to stain her hands with blood because she herself was no longer allowed to.

_The smell of gun smoke. The flash of the muzzle. The shattering ping of a broken soul gem. The pouring rain, washing off their blood._

_Her scream of agony as she watched her best friend’s soul disappear by her own hand._

Homura frowned deeply at herself. _‘Stupid. Dumb. Stupid. Useless. Stupid. Worthless. Stupid!’_ “Raphtalia,” she said as gently as she could, “look at me.”

The young girl fearfully looked up at her Mistress, shaking as the rabbit thing tried to get at her. Homura made sure to keep an extra firm grasp on the monster. Homura felt like absolute _scum_ , for what she was about to do. 

“Raphtalia…I hate to ask you to dirty your hands for me. I…regret keeping you as my slave even though it was your choice. If I were able to do this on my own, you would not have to fight. However…this Shield, this World, has decided to force me to have to rely on others. I sensed something in you, something that made me seek you out in that tent and bring you under my wing. I trust and believe in you, Raphtalia. But I promise you again, that if you serve by my side as my Sword, then I will keep you safe as your Shield. So please,” Homura hesitated for a moment, before holding the rabbit, the Usapil her status said, closer to Raphtalia. “Trust me and help me. Start by killing this Usapil for me.”

Raphtalia’s eye grew wide and watery with fear. Just as Homura thought she wasn’t going to follow through, Raphtalia stabbed the Usapil right in the heart. The Usapil gave a sharp squeak and jerk before falling limp in her hand. When Homura looked down at Raphtalia in surprise, she jerked slightly at the blood covered, teary face that stared up at her.

“I’m sorry Mistress! I promise that I’ll fight for you! I’m sorry I was so scared, but I promise that I won’t hesitate again! Just please! Don’t leave me!” Raphtalia began crying in earnest. Fisting her hands into the edges of her skirt. 

Homura blinked in shock before slowly kneeling to be eye level with the girl. Setting the dead Usapil down, she reached out and embraced the crying girl, stroking her hair gently. “I won’t leave you Raphtalia.” She muttered.

It took a while longer, but eventually the girl stopped crying and eased into the occasional sniffle. “Come on Raphtalia. Let us go find a river or something to rinse off in before we head back into town.” Getting a nod, she helped the girl stand up and began to head off towards where she remembered the map showing that there was a river. Making sure to bring the Usapil and the bag of monster parts with her for the moment.

As they neared the river, Homura set the Usapil and bag down next to a tree. “Go wash your face real quick, then come back here. I want to teach you how to prepare a kill. As tasteless as I find it, you may need this knowledge in the future.” The raccoon made a bit of a face, not completely sure what Homura was talking about, but listening to her instructions.

Watching the girl walk off to do as asked, Homura knelt and carefully extracted the knife from the Usapil. It had been a while since she had needed these skills, since that one timeline where she had been labeled a nutcase and had to survive on the run. That had not been a fun timeline.

Setting Raphtalia’s knife to the side, since it needed a good sharpening, she pulled out her rarely used hunting knife. Hearing approaching footsteps, Homura looked up at the girl, whose face was looking a bit green at seeing the usapil. “This is going to be a bit…uncomfortable for you, I am not going to lie. But it is important you pay attention and learn. Understand?” Getting a nod in answer, Homura proceeded with her lesson.

P-*-*-*-H

After her lesson and helping her clean the blood out of their clothes, Homura finally noticed that apparently the usapil kill had been enough to push her to level 5. And with that came a large variety of shields that had apparently been waiting for that level, on top of all of the monster parts she had absorbed from Raphtalia’s bag.

**{ Companion Shield II conditions met. }**

**{ Slave User Shield II conditions met. }**

**{ Small Medicine Shield conditions met. }**

**{ Small Poison Shield conditions met. }**

**{ Egg Shield conditions met. }**

**{ Blue Egg Shield conditions met. }**

**{ Sky Egg Shield conditions met. }**

**{ Usapil Shield conditions met. }**

**{ UsaLeather Shield conditions met. }**

**{ UsaMeat Shield conditions met. }**

**{ … }**

The list continued for a while, as several shields that she had copied from Erhard had also been unlocked. Looking over most of the shields made Homura frown more and more progressively. While some of the skills like Poison Resist and more advanced versions of Stat Up shields were welcome, other ones that increased her _Cooking_ of all things?

Homura took a deep breath and let it out slowly. There was nothing she could do about it but to accept the cards she was dealt and try to make them into something useful. As absolutely _frustrating_ as it was, she didn’t know enough about the Rules to begin trying to break them.

Hearing Raphtalia begin to start coughing made Homura realize roughly how long they had been out here in the field. While it was considered good to do moderate exercise to help your body break up an illness, no good ever came from pushing to much through it. Especially for a young child like Raphtalia.

Frowning at the item description of the Medicine, she decided it was worth a shot, but she wasn’t sure if the girl’s illness would be considered “serious” or not. Pulling out one of the medicines made by the shield, she handed the small bottle to Raphtalia. “Drink this. Make sure to get it all down, as unpleasant as it is.”

Raphtalia made a face, remembering the disgustingly bitter medicine from this morning. But knowing better than to argue with her Mistress, did as she was told. She managed to get it down, albeit with a struggle. Homura gave her a soft smile and an awkward pat on the head for getting it all down, still not sure exactly on how to treat a little kid that was technically her slave.

Sighing softly at remembering that yet again, she brushed some of the dirt off of her skirt as she stood up. “Come on Raphtalia. It is getting dark and we have not eaten in a little over four hours. How about we go find some dinner?”

Raphtalia looked up at her, eyes wide as her tail started to wag slightly, her stomach making it’s opinion known to them both. Homura couldn’t help but smile softly at the frankly adorable sight.

Heading back into to town, Raphtalia nervously held Homura’s hand while sticking close. Homura frowned slightly, a little uncomfortable with the contact, but figuring the little girl had earned this much from her. Walking down the main street towards the castle, the magical girl ended up picking a tavern mostly at random but trusting her what her sense of smell and intuition were telling her.

The place they entered was a little beat up, and the waitress looked at them slightly confused while leading them to the thick but small wooden table. Overall, the place had a home-y kind of atmosphere that even Homura could appreciate. As they approached the table, she saw Raphtalia eyeing a small family with a kid chowing down on a rather extravagant kid’s plate, her eyes full of envy.

Before the waitress had a chance to leave, Homura spoke up. “If you can bring me a fish meal with some rice and vegetables, I am not picky. This one will have what that kid is eating at that table.” She gestured towards the family.

“What?!” Raphtalia exclaimed while staring in shock. The waitress raised an eyebrow before nodding. “Very well ma’am. That will be 10 bronze pieces.” Nodding at the more than reasonable price, Homura reached into the small pouch of 100 bronze she began keeping on her belt this morning since people gawking when she pulled money from her shield made her feel uncomfortable. Handing the waitress the 9 bronze, she got a nod before she left.

“W-why?” she heard Raphtalia mutter softly after a little bit. Turning her attention to regard the girl for a moment, she decided to answer. “You need to eat to get your strength up. You will need food in order to get healthy. You also more than earned yourself a plate of good food today.”

Tapping her fingers on the table for a bit, she continued. “If you are worried about the cost, do not worry. The king has given me plenty of funds for the time being, and I am sure we can sell the materials we gathered hunting today for some additional money. If you keep up the good work, things like this will be the smallest rewards I could give to you. Understand?”

The little raccoon girl looked like she wanted to cry, but Homura got the feeling it wasn’t from sadness like she thought at first. Soon the girl nodded, “Yes Mistress! I promise to do my best!”

“Good.” Homura responded. Almost immediately after that, the waitress returned with a tray holding their food and some water. Setting the large plate of food in front of Raphtalia, while Homura had several small plates set in front of her. “Here you go, I hope you two enjoy.” The waitress said with a small bow before walking away.

As Homura began to eat her meal, she stopped and looked at Raphtalia after a couple of bites when she hadn’t started eating. “Are you going to eat, Raphtalia?” she asked.

“Can I?” she asked back hesitantly.

Homura bit back her sigh and tried her best to keep the frustration off her face. “Yes. Now please eat. I want for you to get better, and you can not do that if you do not eat.”

Hearing her order, Raphtalia quickly reached out to grab a handful of rice with her bare hands.

“Stop.” She snapped without thinking.

Raphtalia instantly did, her hand just a bit away from the rice. Her body began shaking slightly, expecting to be punished for believing she would be allowed to eat.

Homura winced seeing the little girl’s reaction, letting out a small sigh. “There are utensils right next to your plate.” She began. “Please keep in mind that you are my companion, and your actions will reflect on to me. Please use your utensils to eat with.”

Raphtalia looked at her with wide eyes, her shaking slowly stopping. _‘She was…still allowed to eat?’_ hesitatingly she grabbed the spoon next to her plate. Her Mistress was still watching her, waiting. “Well?” her Mistress asked. Slowly she took a bite, waiting for the spoon to be knocked from her hand. After she took a bite, she got a nod in response before her Mistress went back to eating her meal.

Seeing that she was actually still being allowed to eat, she began to dig in with gusto. After a few more bites, she grabbed the toothpick flag stuck into the rice and held it firmly in her off hand, messily eating meal, obviously not used to using utensils to eat.

When she got about halfway through her meal, Homura looked at Raphtalia to make sure she was still eating. “How is it?” she asked the younger girl. “It’s great!” the girl chimed happily. Homura gave her a soft smile. “That is good.”

While she might still be unsure on how to handle such a young girl, she felt like she was doing a decent job. Hopefully it would get easier.

P-*-*-*-H

Homura stirred as the early morning sun filtered in through the window on to her face. _‘Why do I feel…cold?’_ her half-asleep brain thought to herself.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” She heard faintly, not quite processing it yet though. Sitting up, she looked around the small room. The incubator with the Filolial egg sat on the small table in the corner, Raphtalia sat with her knees pulled up to her chest, hands over her head, fearfully crying “I’m sorry” over and over. When looked down next to her on the bed, where Raphtalia should’ve been, she noticed a large wet spot that she had been partly laying in.

Her eyes narrowed as her face distorted into disgust at realizing what had happened. _‘Did she seriously wet the bed?!’_ she snarled in her mind. However, Raphtalia noticed the face she was making as she started crying a bit louder, her body shaking with rough coughs and fear at the perceived impending beating.

Raphtalia’s response was like dumping a bucket of cold water on her anger. Taking a slow deep breath, Homura forced herself to relax, and smoothed as much of the disgust off her face as she could. But even after standing up, her nightgown was wet and sticking to her in an extremely uncomfortable manner. Walking slowly over to the cowering girl, trying her best to not seem threatening, she reached out a gently pat the girl on the top of her head.

“Calm down Raphtalia. It does not matter if you wet the bed. However, we should get hurry up and get the sheets and our clothes washed and changed.” She said in as gentle a voice as she could manage. The little raccoon girl looked up at the magical girl. “You’re…not mad?” she muttered, tears still in her eyes and trickling down her face.

Homura looked at her for a second. “Are you serious about being sorry for wetting the bed?” Getting a very quick, fearful nod from the little girl, Homura ruffled her hair again. “Then there is no reason to get mad. However, _please_ , try not to let this happen again. I…did not enjoy waking up cold and wet in someone’s urine.” Getting a small flinch and another nod, Homura nodded back and pulled their clothes and set Raphtalia’s on the table.

“Now then, please take off those dirty clothes. Wash yourself with the rag in the wash basin, then put on your clean clothes. Put your dirty clothes on to the sheet. I am going to change and go talk to the innkeeper about the situation. We will clean the clothes and sheet in the river we were at yesterday after breakfast. Understand?” Getting an affirmative response, Homura followed through with her own instructions.

While not as good as an actual shower, it would have to do. Hopefully her sleeping gown was savable. That made her think that it might be worth swinging by the general store to see about getting some clothing soap for their travels. It would help extend the life of their few sets of clothes. Especially with the blood and urine that seems to be piling up in an uncomfortable manner.

Thankfully, the innkeeper was understanding, this being far from the first time that it had happened. In fact, he seemed happy that Homura was willing to buy the sheet off from him, and it was sold for a few bronze. After heading back upstairs to gather Raphtalia, all the soiled cloth, and the egg, she left the inn to proceed on with their day.

Handing the coin pouch to Raphtalia, she told her to go grab some food from near by and meet her outside the general shop near the gate. Thankfully Homura was able to acquire what she was looking for, plus a washboard. Which unlocked a shield when absorbed. She could only sigh in defeat. The fact there was a [Washing] skill pained her immensely in a way she couldn’t even begin to describe.

It was shortly after she left the store that Raphtalia ran up to her holding a few skewers of what looked like small potatoes and meat cubes, looking proud of herself. Giving her a nod, she gently set the incubator on the floor near her, not wanting to sit the wet cloth on to the dirty and ate her portion of their breakfast. Once they had both finished, Homura pulled another Medicine out of her shield, and held it out to Raphtalia. The little raccoon tried to coil back, but a sharp look from Homura was all it took for her to choke it down.

Giving the girl a nod, the magical girl picked up the incubator and proceeded to head out to the river they had stopped at yesterday.

“Alright Raphtalia. I am going to clean and hang out these clothes. Afterwards I am going to practice making more medicine. While I am doing that, I want you to continue hunting monsters in the area. If they stop providing experience or if you encounter something you cannot handle, then come back here. I also want you to bring back at least one usapil so that I can try to cook us lunch. Understand?” Raphtalia nodded, eager to try and please her Mistress after the incident this morning. “Good. Make sure you bring back everything you kill for me.”

P-*-*-*-H

Surprisingly, or not, using the Washboard Shield for the length of time it took to clean the sheet and night clothes to a satisfactory level was enough to unlock it completely. A lot of these basic shields she had unlocked yesterday and this morning seemed to unlock fairly quickly thankfully. She even learned that she could still cash in the meager Mastery Points on them for a slight penalty on the energy earned. That helped her at least, not having to leave those points or waste the time to “master” a shield.

So while she had spent a few more hours afterwards experimenting with her [Compounding] Skill, which had automatically progressed up to LV 2 when she unlocked the Green Mush Shield. Doing so had unlocked the steps for a couple of other recipes that she didn’t have. But the book she had gotten from the apothecary still had several recipes that she didn’t have in her shield. Probably one of the biggest boons from reaching LV 2 on her compounding, the medicine she made by hand were raised by a grade in quality, just as when she picked herbs after unlocking the Leaf Shield.

Looking up and noticing that the sun was approaching it’s peak, and that it would be good to get started on lunch. Carefully packing away her compounding equipment, she stood up and looked around to try and find Raphtalia. Turns out that she was actually fairly close, and seeing her Mistress standing up, she scampered over, a large bag strapped to her back, holding all the monster bits she had gathered, and in her off hand she was holding two freshly dead usapil by their ears.

“Look Mistress Homura! I did exactly like you asked! I even got us two of them, so we can each have one!” she exclaimed happily. Homura could only blink in slight shock, slightly thrown off by how relatively quickly Raphtalia seemed to have made. It was after having that thought that she noticed the poor girl was shaking slightly and looked a little green in the face.

In a gesture she was starting to become more familiar and comfortable with, she reached out and gently ruffled the girl’s hair, and took the usapils from her shaking grip. “You did good Raphtalia. You should go get cleaned up and rest. I will handle preparing these and cooking us lunch.” Not able to hide the relieved look on her face, the little girl set the bag full of things next to the incubator before running off to the river.

Once the girl was out of sight, Homura let out a soft sigh. She knew it was unfortunately necessary, but the girl was young, and obviously experiencing fear after whatever drama she had dealt with before coming under her wing. As she set herself to the task of preparing the rabbit like monsters for a simple meal, she recalled last night, when Raphtalia had been sleeping. Whatever nightmares the girl was experiencing, her night terrors seemed to center around her parents, if the screaming of “Mommy” and “Daddy” had been any indication.

About 45 minutes later, Homura held two skewered usapils that had been seasoned with some of the herbs she had gathered yesterday as well as some of the fresh loomush Raphtalia had hunted this morning. Calling Raphtalia over, she handed the girl her skewer, along with a dose of a new medicine she had made while the girl had been off hunting.

**{ Basic Cold Medicine, quality: fair, effective on weak colds }**

“I want you to take that medicine, I feel like it will work better than the ones I have been giving you.” Homura instructed. Apparently, it was more bitter than the previous kinds if the face Raphtalia made when taking it was any indication. But she managed to still choke it down, even if it obviously pained her to do so.

After eating lunch and absorbing everything as needed, no new shields were acquired from the monster parts. Which wasn’t a surprise to Homura, but at least it would mean that she wouldn’t have to carry everything around while trying to sell it. Handing the incubator off to Raphtalia, who looked confused, Homura decided to explain.

“I noticed the experience from the monsters have already reached not being worth enough to keep killing them.” In fact, she had managed to be brought up to level 7, but once she had hit that level the experience had stopped trickling in almost entirely, and she saw that Raphtalia was also at level 7. “So until your illness has been cured, we will stay in town or leave to gather some more herbs. For now, I want to head into town and find somewhere that will buy our stock of materials. After that we will find an inn to stay at for the night. Understand?”

Raphtalia gave an excited nod, before suddenly looking down at the ground. Homura tilted her head to the side curiously, it looked like she wanted to ask her something, but was scared to. “You have something you want to ask Raphtalia?”

Watching the girl quickly shake her head no, to quickly, Homura gave her a stare. “Raphtalia, please. If there is something you want, you only have to ask. If it is reasonable, I see no reason to deny you anything.”

The little girl bit her lip, still looking hesitant. Head still facing the ground, she looked up through her bangs at the taller girl. “Mistress Homura…would it be alright if…we got me something…to play with?” she whispered out softly.

Homura blinked slightly in shock. That hadn’t been what she had been expecting. “You want me to get you a toy?” she decided to ask, wanting to make sure she heard correctly. A hesitant nod was her answer. It made sense, she supposed, she was still a little kid. She didn’t see anything wrong with indulging the girl.

“I have no problem with that. We can look for something while we are selling our items. But it is something you will have to carry and take care of yourself. Is that a deal?” she asked, getting a more excited nod in response.

Homura decided her first stop in town would be the apothecary, sell a few more herbs that had been gathered and to get a professional opinion on the medicine she’d been making.

“Well these aren’t bad at all…Hero, do you have a background in medicine?” he asked. From such a grouchy old man, that was probably high praise. Considering how much help he’s been, she decided to be a bit honest.

“I am familiar with a form of healing magic and have spent much time when I was younger under the care of Healers in my own world. But yesterday was my first attempt at making medicine. However, I did find it remarkably like preparing explosives. Managing ratios of a mixture of certain items under certain conditions while following a recipe.” She explained.

“Explosives?!” he asked disbelievingly. Getting a nod from the magical girl, he leaned back gaping slightly at the girl. “That…Is certainly a unique thing for a young woman such as yourself to work on. But it seems like you’re not wrong about the similarities if this is the result. Keep up the good work.”

“Thank you sir.” Giving him a small bow, Homura looked over the stock on the counter. “Tell me, is it better to sell the herbs or the medicine?”

“Hmm. That’s a unique question.” He responded. “Medicine, if effective, is easier to use so probably easier to sell as well. With the prophecies and struggles going on in the world, the price of medicine is also increasing, so that would make it more profitable as well.”

Homura gave a nod, it made sense after all. Even if she had her shield bulk craft medicine, it would mean a study income on the road without to much danger. Until Raphtalia was more confident and capable with her blade, she wanted to try and keep her as safe as possible, while easing her more into combat.

A few more questions, and the two girls left the apothecary heading towards a reputable loot shop recommended by the apothecary to sell their monster drops. Homura had been reassured by the old man, that her Basic Cold Medicine was effective enough that one more dose tonight, and another tomorrow morning, both at least fair quality, should be enough to cure Raphtalia.

They approached a booth that had a small line in front of it. Homura made sure to pay attention to what the other patrons were haggling out of the man for various monster parts, not wanting to get ripped off. When it was finally her turn, she walked up to the counter and saw the man failing to hide a smirk. _‘Probably thinks that two little girls will not know what they are doing,’_ she thought.

“Good afternoon little ladies! What can I help you two with?” he asked, his voice to cheerful for her liking.

“Good afternoon sir. Me and my partner are here to sell some of loot. The old apothecary down the road recommended you as a good, reputable merchant.” Homura began, smirking inwardly when she saw his own smirk start to turn into a frown.

“And where is this loot?” he asked, a good bit of the cheer gone from his voice, replaced by a more business-like tone. Homura took a moment to bulk select a large amount of items, before holding her hand out, palm up so her shield was pointing towards the counter. Selecting the [Dispense] option, several large piles of pre separated materials appeared on the counter in a bright green light.

Seeing the shocked look on his face, Homura allowed a small smirk to appear on her face. “Ma-madam Shield Hero?” he asked. Homura was only barely able to stop the twitch in her eye. It reminded her of that annoying princess.

“Based off of some of the prices you were quoting for the other people in line, I feel like 3 silver would be a reasonable price.” Glancing down at Raphtalia and seeing her watching something, she followed her gaze. Off to the side of the road were a few boys playing a with a ball that looked to be made from stitched together Balloon scraps. Looking behind the loot merchant, she saw several of the same kind of ball. “And one of those balls.” She finished. She did her best to ignore Raphtalia turning to look at her suddenly in surprise.

The merchant scowled openly and began sifting through the piles, counting exactly how much of what was here. A couple of minutes later, he accepted while grumbling, handing over the three coins and a ball. The loot was in exceptionally good condition, plus since the Princess’ little plan failed horribly, worshippers of the Three Heroes Church couldn’t act as openly as they might sometimes want to.

Homura gave a nod and bowed gratefully to the merchant. “Thank you very much sir. I look forward to doing business again.”

Handing the ball to Raphtalia as she guided them away from the shady merchant. The little girl could only look down at the ball in shock. She knew her Mistress had said she would get her something to play with. But for her to notice that she had been wanting to play with the same kind of ball as those boys. Slowly, a smile started to bloom on to her face.

“Lets go get an inn room for the night, then you can go play with your ball.” Homura answered. Raphtalia gave an exuberant nod before taking off, ball under one arm, incubator under the other. “Come on then Mistress Homura!”

Homura could only roll her eyes, her brain conjuring up memories of early timelines with Madoka and Sayaka. She didn’t notice the small smile on her lips as she followed the little girl. The smile would be gone an hour later after she had to knock around the group of boys from earlier who had tried to take Raphtalia’s ball from her. She also failed to notice the growing hero worship in the little raccoon’s eyes.

P-*-*-*-H

The next morning found Homura being shaken awake by an excited Raphtalia. “Mistress Homura! Mistress Homura! I think the egg is about to hatch!” she exclaimed excitedly when she noticed she had finally woken up.

Doing her best to shake the cobwebs of sleep from her mind, she turned her attention to the incubator sitting on the table and saw a fine crack down the side of it. The magical girl was just able to make out what looked like feathers within the egg before the cracks began to spread. As she approached the table and took a seat, the egg opened with an audible crack and a large baby bird face popped out from the hole.

Homura could only stare in shock has her mind was frozen at what she saw. The bird’s feathers and eyes were the exact same shade of pink as Madoka’s. As the baby bird that looked to be about 25 cm (10 inches) tall shook off the remaining bits of it’s shell, except for one piece on top of it’s head like a hat.

“Cheep!’ it chirped happily, before jumping on top of Homura’s head, waving it’s wings happily. “Aww, it’s so cute!” Raphtalia chirped at the baby Filolial.


	7. Setting Out

** Chapter 7 – **

_ Setting Out _

Homura blinked slightly before reaching up and gently pulling the pink ball of happy feathers off of her head. Carefully setting it back on the table near the broken remains of it’s shell, doing her best to keep from making the chick uncomfortable.

“So what are you gonna name it Mistress?” Raphtalia asked excitedly, peering over the edge of the table, her tail wagging back and forth quickly under her night dress. Not that Homura could blame the little girl, she’d probably have reacted the same at her age. In response to her question, she almost answered with a reflexive ‘Madoka,’ but stopped herself. It was going to hurt enough having the Filolial around as a reminder of the girl with its coloring alone, let alone with her name. So Homura gave it a bit of thought.

“How about…Sakura?” she offered. The chick seemed to love the name, waving it’s wings and chirping excitedly. Raphtalia tilted her head to the side in slight confusion.

“Mistress, what’s a sakura?” she asked. Homura looked at her in slight shock for a moment, before remembering this wasn’t her World. Sakura trees may not even exist in this world.

“A sakura is a type of flower that blooms on a breed of cherry tree in my home world. They are famous for the bright pink coloring, especially in the spring, where they turn whole fields of trees pink. It’s feathers and eyes are almost the exact shade.” She explained to the smaller girl. Homura couldn’t help but smile at seeing her eyes grow wide and sparkly at the idea.

“That sounds like a perfect name!” Raphtalia cheered, gently picking up the baby bird and spinning around in circles with it while it seemingly cheered. “Little Sakura! It’s so perfect for such a cutie!”

Homura shook her head slightly with a smile, even her battle-hardened heart found the scene endearing. If this is what Raphtalia needed to keep going, she certainly wasn’t going to begrudge the girl.

“Raphtalia, come here so you can take your medicine. You are sounding much better, but if we’re going to be actually leaving town today, I want to make sure.” Homura directed. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the dramatic sagging the raccoon girl did at hearing her. She knew medicine wasn’t enjoyable to take, but it wasn’t that bad.

Homura eyed the broken shell on the table. Grabbing the pieces, she deposited them into her shield.

**{ Monster User Shield conditions met! }**

**{ Filolial Egg Shield conditions met! }**

**{ Monster User Shield**

**-Abilities Locked- Monster Maturation Adjustment (small) }**

**{ Filolial Egg Shield**

**-Abilities Locked- Cooking skill +2 }**

Homura looked at the two shields she unlocked, the Monster User shield especially. Did [Maturation Adjustment] mean that Sakura would grow faster? If that was the case, it was definitely the more immediately useful of the two.

P-*-*-*-H

After everyone finished getting ready and had a hearty round of breakfast, especially Raphtalia and surprisingly Sakura, they set out on the road. They tried to keep a steady pace, but Sakura was awfully energetic for a newborn bird and kept running off, chasing, and actually eating a lot of the smaller monsters such as the Loomush. However, her energy seemed to come and go, so as she stopped and collapsed, panting and stomach full, Homura would gently pick up the young Filolial chick and carry her while following Raphtalia.

It was after a while of letting Raphtalia fight and covering her occasionally when she’d leave herself open to other monsters in a group, that Homura noticed it. To her, it looked as if Raphtalia’s movements had become more awkward in comparison to the last couple of days. Almost as if she was expecting her knife to be a bit closer to her than it really was.

“Raphtalia, come here for a moment.” She directed the raccoon girl after finishing off a small group of bird-like monsters called PikyuPikyu. Gently setting Sakura down as Raphtalia approached, Homura gave her a good look up and down. It took her a moment to realize that the little girl had grown several centimeters and was now about halfway between her old height and Homura’s own, and while still having some room for growing, her black and red dress was now filled out significantly with healthy muscle.

It was like Raphtalia was now more along the lines of a 12-year-old than the 10-year-old she was when Homura found her. _‘Wait. I think I remember the king mentioning something about that at the summoning feast. It is a large part of why fighting Siltvelt was so difficult. Demi humans age as they level until they are around a young adult.’_ Homura thought to herself. _‘Raphtalia has managed to get to level 8 over the last couple of days. So that is most likely what is going on.’_

Turning her gaze down to Sakura, then looking at the Monster User Shield she was currently unlocking. If the bone snapping sounds, she could faintly hear coming from the slightly larger bird were any indication, then the same was applying to Sakura who was now Level 4. And her earlier guess about [Maturation Adjustment] had been correct. Surprisingly, the chick didn’t seem at all bothered with pain or discomfort.

“I think for the foreseeable future, we are going to have to drill you through kata until your body and levels equal out.” Homura finally said. Raphtalia tilted her head to the side.

“Mistress Homura, what are kata?”

“Kata are a series of stances in martial arts. They serve to build up muscle memory, develop smooth movements and to familiarize a person with the basics of combat. Most importantly in your case, they will help you learn where your reach is. Over and underreaching are both dangerous in combat as they can and will leave you open to an attack.” Homura explained.

Raphtalia gave an excited nod. “Anything for your Mistress! Especially if it makes me stronger and able to help you more!”

The magical girl could only give a pained smile and a nod. Looking up at the sky, she noticed it was coming up on noon. Deciding it would be a good time to stop for a small break, she found an open enough area on the side of the road.

“Then follow me. I will walk you through a basic kata for you to repeat while I cook lunch. Afterwards you can play with Sakura for a bit before we continue on the road.” Raphtalia followed excitedly, her tail wagging before it through off her balance mid stance and caused her to fall.

Blushing under the gaze of her chuckling Mistress, Raphtalia did her best to keep her excitement under control. She had to make herself look cool for her Mistress after all!

P-*-*-*-H

After guiding Raphtalia through a simple knife kata, Homura made a simple lunch from roasting some previously prepared Usapils and gathered herbs, while occasionally commenting on Raphtalia’s form whenever she spotted a mistake. The look of focus the younger girl had as she did her best to not make the same mistake again was kind of adorable.

Looking over the stats of her party while cooking, Homura was glad at the decent progression they were making. She was halfway through Level 9, her collection of unlocked shields and small stockpile of [Energy] steadily growing. Raphtalia was about to hit Level 9 herself with probably a few more kills, and her stats were skewing towards DEX and ATK, with a secondary focus on AGI.

Dredging into her small pool of gamer knowledge, she remembered Sayaka babbling about all these terms. DEX was short for Dexterity and usually used to represent how nimble and flexible a character was, typically with their ability to dodge and accuracy. ATK was for Attack and was self-explanatory. AGI stood for Agility and was normally used to measure speed.

Looking into Sakura’s stats, she noticed what appeared to be an early leaning towards AGI and ATK, with a decent STR stat that seemed like an afterthought almost. In fact, the leaning was far steeper than even Raphtalia’s, they looked almost like her stat spread of Str and Def. _‘A specialist then,’_ she thought to herself. _‘She is probably going to be a klutz if she does not receive any points to DEX.’_ Was the next part of her idle thoughts.

With a look into her own stats, she gave them a thorough look over to see how they were developing. She was a bit surprised with how video game like the world was, that she wasn’t given points for herself to give out how she wanted. From her own guess, it appeared that the stat points from leveling were allocated automatically based off what she was thinking of as [Profession] and actions taken by the person between levels. At early levels, her STR and DEF had gained the largest increases with each level. However, she had noticed that in those levels she spent more time active, the STR and DEF growth had shrunk, and she had received more points to AGI and DEX. So she was going to have to make sure the other girls put in the work they need to keep their stats from getting to heavily skewed.

Pulling the meal off the fire and dishing it out on to some simple wooden plates she had purchased, she called Raphtalia over as she finished another round of kata. The little raccoon girl ran over, lightly panting and sweating, smiling big with her tail wagging excitedly. Shaking her head slightly, she gave her slave a small smile before handing her a plate. As she set the second one in front of Sakura, she hummed softly when she got a notice from her shield.

**{ Monster User Shield**

**-Abilities Unlocked- Monster Maturation Adjustment (small) }**

_‘Well that is nice.’_ Homura thought to herself. Changing back to her Ribbon Shield, which had become something of her default shield to help remind her of her goal. She had also used the accumulated points to unlock the shield using Ren’s method to the first tier.

**{ Ribbon Shield C**

**-Abilities Unlocked- Equip Bonus: Defense +7, skill "Bind" }**

Homura had been moderately surprised at the fact that all of the stats connected to the shield had been doubled with a single tier of upgrade. What would happen if she were to upgrade something to the Ultra Rare tier? Especially a high-level shield?

It was definitely setting in what made the [Legendary Armaments] special and unique to the displaced magical girl. _‘How powerful does that mean the Waves become?’_ Homura couldn’t help but ponder as she settled down with her own plate of food. An uncomfortable image of Walpurgisnacht, that echoing haunting laugh as she turned Mitakihara into her stage. 

The mountain that was Madoka’s Witch towering over the newly built stage, ready to deliver it’s “Salvation” on the world.

If that was the scale the four heroes were expected to contend with, even with the power she could see in their weapons, the magical girl was not comfortable in their chances. Sighing softly to herself she dug into her meal, trying to wave off her thoughts.

P-*-*-*-H

It was several hours later when Homura looked up towards the sky as it began to slowly change colors with the coming twilight.

“Alright Raphtalia, Sakura, I think it’s about time we stopped for the night.” Homura directed. The young chick was resting tiredly in her arms. She had done surprisingly well for the day before she had basically just run out of energy an hour ago. While she refused to sleep, she was more than content to rest in her arms and softly be pet. Homura had even accidently unlocked a new shield when she had dislodged an apparently molting feather down infront of her shield’s jewel.

**{ Filolial Feather Shield**

**-Abilities Locked- Equip Bonus: Filolial Speed Up (small), Filolial Status Up (small) }**

Homura equipped it at once seeing it’s two bonuses would no doubt help with Sakura still being a low level. Indeed, Homura was able to finally get an idea of what a [small] bonus consisted of, and it seemed to be a 10% increase. While that meant that the Status Up would only give an additional couple of points per level by itself, it appeared to stack with either the Slave or Companion Series.

Having a sudden thought, Homura pulled up Raphtalia’s stats and did some math. What she realized made her frown. If her math was correct, she was only receiving the points from one of the series. Glancing at the slave seal icon that was next to the raccoon girl’s name, Homura was filled with intense disgust at the idea of which it most likely was.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Homura forced her emotions under control. This was an easy enough situation to remedy. Gently setting Sakura down on the grass, who looked at her with what looked like concern in those pink eyes, she directed the young bird to stay there while Raphtalia and her set up camp.

Getting a nod in response made Homura blink in response. She knew that part of the Beast Tamer Seal was to allow the tamed beast to understand their owner, but to get a response like that? Homura couldn’t help but wonder if it had something to do with her shield.

Again.

Shaking the rogue thoughts from her head, Homura got to work. She had several things she needed to do tonight.

It took a bit, but after a while Homura had managed to get the tent setup while Raphtalia gathered some firewood and got a small cooking fire started. Nodding at the girl and sending her off to do her kata, Homura cooked the group’s dinner.

Watching the girl and her movements, the experienced magical girl’s eyes had begun to catch some quirks that were forming in her style. Small tells like aiming lower on purpose, the positioning her feet kept trying to lead into. Thinks of that sort. Homura had seen it before, many times whenever Sayaka would attract and received her training in the form of fighting familiars.

It wasn’t a bad thing per say, but it could lead to some dangerous habits in fights with more...humanoid forms. Homura felt that it would be best to correct that early. Plus nothing trained a person better than actual combat. A few of the earlier timelines when she was able to convince Sayaka to let her train her after Mami had died had proven that fact.

It also proved how capable Sayaka _could be_. She was just to damn stubborn for her own good.

While the three girls sat peacefully around the fire eating dinner, Homura was diligently looking over all her menus, trying to find out the information she wanted. She found it eventually, buried in the [Slaves] section of her [Help Menu].

**{ Slaves may be released in one of three ways. The first and most common is through death. Without the slave’s own status magic for the Slave Seal to bind, the magic it contains is released into the atmosphere. The second is for the owner to release the slave. This may be done by channeling mana into the seal and unlocking it as with any lock. A verification message will be presented and must be confirmed by the owner. The third method for it to be forcibly released through a magic ritual. This method is normally used when a Slave Owner is arrested to prevent the slaves from being commanded to help in the release of the owner. }**

_‘Well that is easy enough,’_ Homura released the small breath she had been holding. _‘It also works well with my plan for tonight.’_

Homura allowed the young raccoon girl to rest after finishing her meal for a while before she stood and walked a bit away from the fire, but still close enough that she was well enough illuminated.

“Raphtalia, come here.” she ordered softly.

While looking confused, the girl knew better than to try and disobey an order. Even if she knew her Mistress wouldn’t abuse the seal on purpose, the remembered that her seal had been set to obey orders. So she stood up and walked over towards the older girl.

“Draw your knife.”

Still confused, she hesitantly did as instructed, making sure that she kept a firm proper grip on the handle just in case this was some kind of test. Homura gave the younger girl a small nod.

“Now it is time for some combat training. Attack me.”

Raphtalia recoiled slightly in shock, unwilling to attack her. Homura frowned when the seal on the little girl’s chest began to glow, making her grimace with discomfort that edged into actual pain.

“Your attack stat is still too low to get through my defense, so you do not need to worry.” Homura attempted to console the girl. “But it is important that you learn how to fight not only human enemies, but also enemies that are more skilled than you.” she began her explanation.

“I am still unsure on the exact nature of the enemies we will have to combat during the Waves. However, I am fairly confident in saying that we may have to fight things from the size and strength of Usapils, probably up to things as large and powerful as a dragon and everything in between. That includes humans. We may even have to fight things unrelated to the Waves. I want you to be as ready as possible to help me whenever the moment comes. Do you understand?”

Homura was unused to speaking so much. She had gotten so used to barely speaking most of her time loops. She was a loner. But now here she was, trying to be a good role model to a young slave girl that she had purchased on a whim because of a _spark_ , and now raising a baby bird that will grow to be at least the size of an ostrich. Watching the girl grip at her chest, she smirked slightly at seeing her steel her expression into one of focus before rushing at Homura.

“Hyah!” Raphtalia exclaimed as she stabbed at the magical girl. Homura couldn’t help but think about how _slow_ it appeared. With a casual swing she deflected the blow, not even using her shield, just by pushing the inside of Raphtalia’s arm with her own. She swiftly followed the parry with a jab to the chest. Her strength stat made sure that the younger girl felt the blow and all the discomfort it would bring.

Her lack of an attack stat meant the cancellation sound rang out and Raphtalia received no damage.

These three facts made Homura probably the best combat trainer: her experience, strength, and attack stat. Homura watched and waited as the girl gathered herself, holding the spot where she had been struck.

“A straight charge like that may work on low leveled monsters,” she began explaining, “and against unsuspecting enemies. However, I am neither. Try to not leave yourself open. You are using a knife, and later you will probably move to using a full-sized sword, it is important that you keep your core protected. You cannot do that if your weapon and hands are away from your body. Now, try again.”

Raphtalia frowned, pulling her knife hand closer to her body, and holding her fisted hand out in front of her. _‘Better,’_ Homura thought at seeing the slightly modified stance from the kata she showed the girl this morning. Homura kept her own body loose and didn’t assume any stance. She planned to simply only guard and counter for now. Any more than that and she might destroy the girl.

After a moment and not seeing her move, Raphtalia closed in. A few exchanges between the two girls occurred before Homura tripped the girl since she had stopped paying attention to her footwork before kicking her away.

“Footwork is the basis of combat. If your stance is not solid, then your opponent can easily push you around.” She broke down her mistake while letting the girl recover.

This continued on for the next hour until it became too dark even with the fire to safely keep going. When Homura made the decision that training was done for the day, she made her move.

Finally moving from the spot she had stood in for the last hour, Homura moved to the side, parried Raphtalia’s strike that had now overextended and left the girl open. Knocking her feet out from under her once again, Homura struck with an open palm over the girl’s slave seal and shoved her down on to her back firmly.

As the little raccoon girl laid there, gasping, Homura kept her palm open like a knife hand but pointed at the slave seal with the hand that was already on her slave seal. Drawing up her magic, she pushed it into the [Slave Curse] and then like her Help screen had explained, turned her hand and magic 90 degrees to the left.

**{ Release slave [Raphtalia] from command?**

**[Yes] / [No] }**

Selecting the ‘yes’ option, the screen in front of her disappeared and the [Slave Curse] glowed brightly for a moment before vanishing. Seeing the girl’s eyes widen in shock in panic, Homura realized what it must have seemed like from the girl’s perspective.

That she was being abandoned. 

_‘Stupid. Stupid. Stupid and worthless!’_ Homura yelled at herself for her mistake.

Seeing the tears beginning to form in her eyes, Homura quickly navigated her menu and sent the girl a party invite. Seeing the girl’s eyes widen a bit more, the magical girl gave her a soft, hopefully comforting smile.

“Congratulations Raphtalia. You are free now.” The words seemed to stumble out of her mouth. She had no idea what she was saying and hoped that she didn’t mess this up.

“You are more than capable of surviving on your own if you would rather leave. But I think Sakura and I would prefer if you stayed with us. So, I want to hear your own answer: would you like to help me save your world?” she asked.

Raphtalia looked past the party invite and looked up at her former Mistress with tear filled and slightly scared eyes. She could hear the words, but they weren’t processing completely. She was to busy being drawn deep into those violet eyes, just like the first time they had met. She had looked at them several times since then, but it wasn’t until now that she had the same experience she had then.

But this time it was slightly different. The fire in her eyes burned brighter, a bit more madly than previously. This time, instead of the fire being passive, merely part of her existence, they were being directed towards her. Some part of her mind, the part she associated with her raccoon side, deep within her, realized that her Mistress had claimed her. To her Mistress, whether or not she realized it, there was one simple fact.

Raphtalia belonged to Homura.

Not as a slave, but as a companion. A partner. Her Mistress was full of Love. So full of it that she had been hurt by it but still wanted to share it. And Raphtalia had been claimed by that Love. Though Raphtalia couldn’t yet admit it, maybe didn’t even realize it completely.

She too loved her Mistress.

Then she heard her ask a question similar to a few days ago. Of course, she would stay and help. She had to make sure she stayed in her Mistress heart and life no matter what. Accepting the party invite, she was so comforted at seeing the two now familiar names join her own in her vision.

Raphtalia lunged up and hugged Homura tightly, letting her tears out from both the discomfort of her training and the rapid emotional roller coaster she had just experienced. Homura startled slightly at the sudden action but remembering something similar had happened on their first day together, she held the little raccoon girl closer and let her cry.

As Raphtalia’s crying had begun to slow, her tail waved upwards and lightly brushed the jewel of her shield. Homura was surprised when the jewel glowed, and she received a notification.

**{ Tanuki Shield conditions met! }**

**{ Tanuki Shield**

**-Abilities Locked- Equip Bonuses: Tanuki Status Up(small), Illusion Resistance Up(small) }**

Well Homura knew what shield she was going to have unlock next once she finished unlocking the Filolial Feather Shield. Blinking at feeling Raphtalia go completely slack, Homura realized that the young girl must have cried herself to sleep. Sighing softly to herself, she picked her up and carried her into the tent and gently tucked her into her own sleeping bag.

Stepping out she picked up the lightly dozing Sakura and also settled her into the tent next to Raphtalia. Homura couldn’t help but smile at the adorable sight of those two sleeping together.

Settling out next to the remains of the fire, Homura carefully got a very small fire stoked back up to serve as a small light and source of warmth as she settled in to keep watch for monsters and bandits. Looking down at the fire, she decided to experiment some more with her magic while the other girls slept. While she could use some of the basic abilities she had from her old world, there was a wall of sorts that stopped her from doing anything to complex. But she could feel that she was making progress on that front.

That didn’t mean it wasn’t frustrating to her.

P-*-*-*-H

It was a few days later, a week after she had been summoned into this world, that Homura and her small party had arrived at a small village. Homura looked around in interest. This was the first place outside of the woods and the capitol that she had seen in this world.

After the last few days, Raphtalia now stood at about the same height she did and could pass as a 14-year-old. It was easy to see the budding beauty she was going to be once she finished growing with how she was starting to fill out her dress. Homura made a note to see about finding a tailor in the town before they left to see about getting a few larger ones made for the girl.

The real shock however was Sakura. The morning after she had freed Raphtalia, she had been shocked to see that Sakura was roughly halfway towards being full grown. Now, with all of them being around Level 20, Sakura was slightly larger, taller, and fluffier than the few other full grown Filolials Homura had seen. It gave her an uncomfortable feeling that her shield was influencing her growth more than was normal. 

And that it wasn’t just related to the Beast Tamer Shield.

The only consolation was that with all their hunting, and the shield’s automatic preparation feature she had been able to keep the both of them fed through their rapid growth spurts. As it was, the constant stopping for meals is why they had gotten to this village a day later than they would’ve otherwise.

Homura got the attention of a random passerby.

“Yes, little lady? Can I help you?” the kind stranger asked.

“Yes ma’am. Me and my friend here are passing through and we were wondering if you could point us to a tailor?” Homura asked. Turning to look at Sakura, Homura was a bit surprised to see how earnestly the Filolial was eying a few of her kin who were pulling along carts and wagons of various sizes. It was then that she remembered that the Trader, Beloukas, had told her the birds literally lived to pull carriages and wagons. “And somewhere I may purchase at least a small cart or wagon.”

Ignoring Sakura whipping her head and long neck around to stare at her, Homura noted down the directions. Giving the woman a small bow and a grateful thank you, the black-haired girl decided to stop and get the wagon first as it would be the pricier purchase, but it was also closer.

Coming up to the small farm, Homura noticed a few Filolial grazing around and playing with each other. Out in front of the house was a man who was busy fitting a harness and small plow on to one of his Filolial. It appeared that it was common in this world that all the jobs normally done by horse or oxen in her world had been replaced with Filolial.

Shaking the stray thoughts from her head, Homura approached the man. After some negotiations, she managed to purchase a small but decent sized covered wagon that could comfortably carry 5 people and some supplies. While it might be a bit large for now, Homura knew her party would grow, and wanted to make sure she had enough room. 

She did find it slightly amusing watching the grown man gush in shock at seeing and fitting Sakura. She also blushed slightly at his compliments of raising such a fine bird.

“Oh, one last thing lassie. Where be ya and your friend headin’?” he asked. While Homura was slightly confused, she figured it wouldn’t hurt to answer.

“We plan to continue heading north. We have no set destination in mind at the moment. Why do you ask?”

“Ah, if ya be headin’ north, would ya mind delivering some supplies for me? There’s a small territory owned by the Ivyred’s, good folk they be, and they’re suffering with a small famine and some bandit troubles from what I be hearin’.” The old man asked.

Homura hummed softly in thought before nodding and accepting the task. Helping the man load the supplies into the newly purchased wagon. Pulling out her map, Homura made sure to get directions to the Ivyred Territory and a signed document denoting the purpose for her trip so that the supplies couldn’t be seized.

Making a quick stop by the tailor on their way out of the village, Raphtalia just decided to ask for a few sets of a similar dress just a bit larger for her. Apparently, she really liked the dress since Mister Erhard had purchased them for her. Homura just shrugged, it was as good a reason as any. At least the quality of them was nice enough, and Homura was able to sell off some of the pelts and leathers they had gathered to cover the cost of the dresses.

P-*-*-*-H

It was a couple of days later that they had approached the Ivyred Territory as the sun was setting. However, they received quite a shock when they arrived.

Some areas of the crop field had been set ablaze. Probably by the bandits they had been warned about. 

Homura rushed Sakura onwards towards the flames. _‘What can I do to help? My magic isn’t working like it did in my world!_ She thought to herself. _‘Maybe I could cover the crops with magic?’_ Right after she had that thought, it was almost like something unfolded in her mind.

Just in time, they pulled up to a large section of burning crops. Following an instinct, Homura pointed an open palm at the fire and read the words that both appeared on the screen and front of her and in her mind.

**“I, the Hero of the Shield, have deciphered a Law of Nature and so command!**

**Separate my targets through time!**

**[Fast Dissonance]!”**

A circle appeared in her vision and covered the area of burning crops. Before she could consciously realize what she was doing, a relatively large wave of magic came from her hand and covered all of the crops within the circle.

Once her magic settled over the burning crops, the spell finally took effect. Watching made Homura’s head hurt as the crops seemed to almost glitch and flicker for a moment. But to her shock, as they flickered, the flames seemed to peel away and burn out into whisps of smoke in the air.

After the spell ended, Homura collapsed forward gasping for air. She felt so exhausted. On a hunch, she opened her [Status Menu], and sure enough the blue bar labeled MP was down to about 10% remaining. That spell had been very demanding and was probably due to the size of the area she had affected.

Taking several deep breaths, she pulled her focus back to the situation at hand. Disconnecting Sakura from the wagon, she gave directions.

“Sakura, I want you to work on putting out the flames! Stomp them out if you must, but please be careful! Raphtalia, use your sword to cut the burning crops away from the good ones! Cut down some good crops if you have to but do what you can to stop the spreading!”

Getting sounds of affirmation, the two rushed into action. Hearing something like rushing water, Homura whirled around to face the town. She was slightly shocked when she saw several streams of water collide above a building that had been set ablaze. The colliding water streams erupted into a roaring down pour of water drops, quickly putting out the flames.

It looked like help had arrived. Now they just had to get this handled as quickly as possible.


	8. Meeting with the Bow Hero

**Chapter 8 –**

_Meeting with the Bow Hero_

Homura looked over the remaining fields of crops. While she knew she should be happy that there were still any crops left standing, a large part of her could only see another failure.

' _Never fast enough. Never on time. Never able to do enough.'_ She chastised herself with a deep frown.

Remembering that she has partners that helped her at their own personal risk, she forcibly ripped herself out of the negative spiral her brain was trying to fall into. Turning towards Raphtalia and Sakura, she began to make her way towards them.

"Is anyone hurt?" she called out as she approached. Raphtalia blinked up at her as if snapping out of a trance.

"Ah," a soft sound of surprise came from her lips as she looked down at her arms. The ends of her underdress' sleeves had been burnt off and there were signs of first degree burns on her hands and wrists. There were also several smaller burn holes scattered over her dress, presumably from the hotter embers that had fallen on her. It seemed as though with the adrenaline wearing off, the young girl was finally registering the pain and discomfort from her burns.

"I got burned a bit, Mistress." she finally said even as Homura was already making her way over.

Navigating through her menu, she dispensed a container of burn ointment and some bandages. Pausing for a moment to remember the basic first aid Mami had made sure she learned to save on magic in early timelines, she began with gently applying a very thin layer of ointment on the burns. Raphtalia gave a soft sigh of relief as the magical properties of the medicinal aloe in the ointment provided immediate pain relief and slight healing. Some of the worst burn areas Homura carefully bandaged up to keep them clean and covered until a better treatment could be provided.

After making sure Raphtalia was treated, she walked over to Sakura who was busy plucking out some burnt feathers. After making sure there wasn't anything wrong with her despite having been stomping out the fires, she helped pluck all the burnt feathers off so she wouldn't be in discomfort.

When Sakura looked up towards the village and made a loud chirping sound, Homura glanced behind her to see a small group of 4 men holding pitchforks led by an older man heading their way.

"Hey, it's ok girl. They just want to make sure everything is ok." She cooed softly to soothe the filolial, stroking her feathers gently. When Sakura finally settled down, Homura turned around completely and stepped towards the group of men.

"Are you the one that put out the fires out here?" The older man asked as he stepped forward.

"We are." Homura answered with a nod.

The elder gave a smile and bowed in gratitude. "I thank you for helping save our crops and town, young misses." He said towards Homura and Raphtalia.

As he straightened his back, one of the men escorting him stepped forward, the suspicion clear on his face.

"But Lord Ivyred-!" the man escorting the apparent Lord tried to protest.

"We are not the kind of people that blame others on happenstance last time I looked, John." Lord Ivyred interrupted and explained gently but firmly. The men around him all looked slightly ashamed and lowered their makeshift weaponry.

"Now miss, I would like to ask you your reason for being here, if you don't mind answering." he stated rather than asked, turning his attention back towards Homura and her party. Homura gave a small nod before gesturing towards herself.

"My name is Homura Akemi, and I am the Hero of the Shield. My party and I were passing through a small village a bit to the south of here when they asked if we would be willing to deliver supplies to your own village. My filolial, while still young, was excited to make the delivery and I had no specific plans as of yet so I decided there was no harm." Making a gesture at the remaining crops around her, she continued, ignoring the suddenly gobsmacked looks on most of the men around her at her apparent identity.

"As we approached, we noticed in the distance the starting of the fire, but we were too far away to see the culprits. We picked up our speed to arrive as soon as possible to help as soon as we could. Unfortunately, none of us are capable of water magic, and had to resort to more brute force methods to save at least some of your harvest." Homura looked slightly ashamed at that fact. She faced the Lord and gave a small bow, not too deep to seem subservient, but deep enough to be respectful and apologetic.

"I apologize."

The Lord blinked in slight shock for a moment before guffawing slightly in amusement.

"Raise your head Madam Shield Hero! I am grateful enough that you spared the time in your important adventure to assist my small village, both with the supplies and saving some of our harvest. Thanks to you, my village may survive longer than it would otherwise had you not shown up."

Looking up at him with slight confusion, Homura eventually gave him a nod.

"If you don't mind sir, we can deliver the supplies to a location of your choosing, and I would like to find lodging for my party and I."

"A reasonable request Madam Akemi. Please, by all means grab your carriage and I shall escort you to the village warehouse. Afterwards I'll prepare you and your companion rooms in my home. I can even introduce you to my daughter! She's only a few years older than you appear to be!" He declared, his face showing the joy at the relief she is bringing with ehr through the exhaustion.

"That is agreeable for now." She bowed slightly in thanks. After raising her head, she turned and set about quickly hooking Sakura back up to the small carriage.

"Just a bit longer Sakura, then you can rest for a job well done." she murmured softly to the large bird as she ruffled the feathers on her head. She got a happy chirp in response from the ostrich like bird.

P-*-*-*-H

It was thankfully a short, if slow, trip into town to reach the warehouse. Looking around as they walked through town, Homura assessed the damage and the results of the water magic she noticed being used to extinguish the building fires. Turning to look at the Lord that had joined her and Raphtalia on the wagon, she decided to ask him for some answers.

"May I ask who extinguished these fires? They must be a talented mage to so skillfully control the water from what I saw."

Lord Ivyred seemed to preen slightly. "Why that would be my lovely wife and daughter! While my daughter may have some confidence issues, she is without a doubt a talented mage." he declared proudly.

That would explain his reaction, it was only reasonable for a husband and father to be proud of his family's achievements. She filed away the supposed confidence issues away that he mentioned for later. She was no stranger to those feelings after all.

"I see." she responded. "Pardon me if I come across as rude, but besides the famine and drought, have there been other issues here recently? While I do not claim to be an expert, these fires seem to have been an arson attempt. That normally is done to send a message while simultaneously sabotaging others."

She watched his face turn to a frown, before glancing at the men that were escorting them to the warehouse. This was apparently a topic he did not want becoming common knowledge. Especially the several heads she saw turn ever so slightly towards them to listen in better. This caused her to also frown.

"If you are offering your help, Madam Shield Hero, then I would be more than glad to explain the situation tomorrow morning after we have all rested. I am growing old after all, and you are still young, it would not do well for us to stay up late talking about such unpleasant things." he finally gave a rather politically correct answer.

Homura could only nod in understanding, catching the hidden message he was trying to imply.

It was shortly after that conversation that they reached the village warehouse. Thankfully with so many hands to help move the supplies, it took little time to unload the cargo. It did however take Homura a moment to go through all of the crates to make sure everything was intact and still present. Even if this wasn't what she had expected when she had been summoned to another world, she took pride in making sure to see a job through to completion.

Even impossible ones such as saving her best friend from a fate worse than death.

Once she was content that everything was in good condition and accounted for, she made sure to have Lord Ivyred lock it up securely. Waving off the men that had been escorting them up to now, she watched him visibly sag once they were all out of sight. She decided to not comment on it. For now.

"If you are ready Lord Ivyred, simply point me towards your house and Sakura will have us there shortly." Getting a nod in response, he began to direct them towards his house. Sakura was glad to not have to go as slow as she had to follow the escorts.

Raphtalia was not so glad as she groaned in discomfort while holding her stomach in the back.

Luckily for the raccoon girl, they arrived at a decent sized farmhouse with a small barn nearby fairly quickly. It was certainly not the kind of place she had expected a Lord to live in. An uncomfortable image of the condition of the kingdom was starting to form in her mind.

"Welcome to my home, Madam Akemi, Miss Raphtalia. While I'm sure it's not the manor you were probably expecting, I promise there is plenty of room and comfort here for you two. If you don't mind dropping me off at the house, you may take your carriage and park it outside of the barn. There are several open stalls Sakura may rest in for the night. Then I will show you to your room, or rooms if you prefer to sleep separately, when you return."

Lightly popping Sakura's back at the upset sound she made upon hearing that she would have to sleep in a barn away from her, she gave the older man a polite nod.

"Raphtalia tends to suffer from nightmares if I am not nearby, so it would be best if we share a room." Homura explained.

"Very well, I shall make sure a room is ready by the time you return."

P-*-*-*-H

Homura was so glad to have an actual bed to sleep in. While she didn't mind roughing it in the woods, she had done much worse several times, that didn't change the fact a good bed was much better than a makeshift sleeping bag from blankets. Another plus was that Raphtalia only had a few minor episodes throughout the night, no screaming involved. In fact, Homura might not have noticed had she not become such a light sleeper.

Waking up Raphtalia and making her start getting ready for the day, Homura herself got ready quickly so she could go make sure that Sakura had enough breakfast. She was glad two-fold that Sakura's appetite seemed to be settling for now, and that food she prepared could be stored in stasis in her inventory so it could theoretically be stored in there for years and be just as fresh as the day she put it in.

Homura gave a smile when Sakura gave out a cheerful, "Kue!", upon seeing her come in.

"Good morning to you too, Sakura." Homura greeted.

Walking up to the stall, Sakura bent her head down to get some morning pets from Homura. Homura smiled a bit more. She had never had a pet back in her own world, but she could understand why people had them if this was how they made people feel. Pulling out the occasional bit of food from her shield, she fed the young filolial between bouts of playing.

"I do not know how long you will have to stay here, but I promise it will only be for today." The magical girl muttered while petting Sakura, who made a sad sound. Even though it had been about a week, and it was probably due to the [Beast Tamer Seal], she still found it strange just how much Sakura seemed to understand everything she was told.

"If you behave, I promise I will make it up to you." Homura stated. Sakura gave a small whine like a small child. "Is that a deal girl?"

Sakura looked at her imploringly, not wanting to spend a whole day apart, before eventually nodding with a drawn-out chirp. Homura nodded back and patted the pink filolial on top of her head before turning and leaving the barn.

Making her way back to the farmhouse, Homura took a better look around now that there was daylight illuminating the house and the surrounding small town. The damage the town sustained in the fire was thankfully not as bad as she initially had feared. But even still, the signs of famine and economic struggles were also far more obvious. While this was not what she originally had planned when she was summoned to "Save the World", she would never deny that it wasn't a bad thing to help people when she could. It was time to get the story from Lord Ivyred.

Schooling her features, Homura pulled the extremely familiar mask over her face and feelings. Making her way towards where she sensed Raphtalia, she looked around the halls of the house. Matching the general condition of the town, Homura couldn't help but think that the halls and rooms she saw were more bare than would be normal of a Lord. Especially if the Lord were to be taxing the land into poverty. So that lent credence to the idea that Lord Ivyred was in this position by attempting to help his people.

When Homura finally walked through into the room where Raphtalia was in, she stilled at seeing who she had been talking to. A beautiful face that denoted being on the edge of her teenage years set with a petite body for her apparent age, an extremely shy expression with bright green eyes, green hair in an uncomfortably familiar set of low braided twin tails.

And having been buried under Raphtalia's growing light, Homura could finally feel that same "Spark" that the Incubator called [Potential] within the girl.

Doing her best to continue walking into the dining room, she had finally processed through the shock, and did her best to make it seem as if she hadn't been shocked for any reason. She noticed that unfortunately Lord Ivyred apparently had seen her stall at seeing his daughter, if the woman next to him was Lady Ivyred. Thankfully all he did was raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"Mistress Homura, you need to try some of Lady Ivyred's cooking! It's so good!" Raphtalia chimed excitedly at seeing her. Giving her a soft smile to encourage her to continue being so happy and open, Homura looked over the modest spread of food over the equally modest dining table.

"It certainly does look good Raphtalia, Lady Ivyred." Homura replied as she took an open seat next to her partner.

"Thank you very much for the compliment, Dame Akemi. Your companion said you were out feeding your Filolial. Is she doing well?" Lady Ivyred asked politely.

"She is. She was upset at having to sleep away from us. I will need to make sure to make some time to play with her outside of town today to make up for it." Homura replied. While she herself was not one for small talk, she was both a guest in their house and in the presence of technical nobiltiy Even if their demeanor and living conditions didn't denote that.

Lord Ivyred gave a loud laugh.

"Well then, I can point you out to a nearby lake in the fields that would be perfect for that later." he told her.

"Thank you, sir. I appreciate it." Homura gave a nod of thanks.

After that she finally took a bite of the eggs that she had grabbed from a dish in front of her. She stopped for a moment, amazed that something as simple as some scrambled eggs could taste so good. Finally swallowing, she turned her attention back to the green haired woman.

"Raphtalia was right, this is indeed really good Lady Ivyred. Would you be willing to maybe give me some tips before we leave?"

"Why certainly! It's such a small thing to teach to one of the Cardinal Heroes." Lady Ivyred laughed softly.

"Speaking of you leaving," Lord Ivyred interjected, "Do you know how long you plan to stay?"

Homura hummed softly in thought.

"Honestly, that depends." she answered eventually. "I did promise to look into helping out here. And short of killing more monsters to level up my party and gather materials, I had no specific plans to prepare for the Waves. I still know little about this world."

The Lord just looked interested, stroking his beard slowly.

"You were truly serious about helping my town?" he asked

Homura gave a sharp nod. "I always stick by what I say."

After looking her in the eyes, almost challengingly, for a moment, he finally heaved a sigh.

"Dear?"

"Papa?"

The two women in his family asked simultaneously at seeing him almost deflate and age several years with that sigh. Homura kept quiet for now.

"Well if you are serious about helping me, then I suppose I owe you that explanation from last night." he told Homura.

"It all technically started a few years ago. While we were not the most influential or powerful of nobility, we were generally well respected and much more well off financially than we are now." he began, leaning back in his chair. Steepling his fingers together on the dining table he looked like he was gathering his thoughts.

"Soon however, I noticed that more and more money was gone from our coffers than there should've been. It eventually reached the point where I had to pull Rishia, my daughter here," he gestured towards the older teen Raphtalia had been talking with, "from school in Faubley because we would not be able to afford her tuition.

"However, the problem continued. I couldn't find anything obviously wrong with the logs and transactions, and nothing that jumped out to me as creative bookkeeping. But a few weeks ago, I learned about a more powerful noble to the north in the Northern Territory that was using many illegal means to amass more money and political power. So I began to suspect that he had been responsible for it and used the majority of our remaining funds to raise our defenses just in case he made a move against us.

"But that seemed to have been the final nail in the coffin. Merchants and tradesmen have mostly stopped coming to our village, and with the famine and the lack of funds, my villagers are starting to feel the pain." He heaved a heavy sigh. Raphtalia was looking at him in shock and worry, while Homura herself kept her face as neutral as she could. Finally, he raised his eyes up to look at her in her own.

"I was right in my suspicions. I received a notice from him two nights ago. He claimed that he would help end our problems if I simply gave him Rishia. The 'Or else,' left unsaid." he turned his gaze out the window, to the charred remains of the field and buildings. "Then last night happened. I cannot in good faith tell my villagers that a rotten noble to the north set the crops on fire for my daughter after stealing all of our money. The revolt they would lead when we should all be standing united against the Waves." He shook his head.

"I cannot allow that to happen."

Homura turned her own gaze out over the fields, turning this new information over in her mind.

"I will admit I am not used to dealing with politics. I am more used to destroying my target and moving on to the next one to achieve my goals. The last thing I would want to do is attempt to abuse what power I may or may not have by taking out a corrupt noble. From what bit I do know in my own world that would be a fast way to have an assassination order put on my own head." Homura frowned in thought.

"I suppose I could seek an audience with the King. Explain the situation to him, and either make him deal with the problem, or get permission to handle it myself." She mused out loud.

When she turned back to look at the others in the room, Lord Ivyred was looking at her in a calculating manner, while the girls were looking at her in varying degrees of confused shock. Homura focused her attention back on the Lord specifically.

"Though I would worry about what may happen to the town, especially if it is found out what we were doing, after we left. There is nothing stopping them from ramping up to having 'bandits' destroy and raze your town to the ground, conveniently leaving no evidence." Homura told him. It made his face fall and worry creep into his eyes.

Homura blinked when she suddenly felt a few strong sources of magic come into her detection range. While they were still several kilometers out and approaching at a leisurely pace, Homura was worried about who it could possibly be. Two of them felt oddly familiar, but they were still too far away for her to do much else than identify that they were there.

Standing and turning to face the gate that they were approaching, she felt her combat mask sliding into place. Raphtalia also shifted into her still building combat mindset at seeing her Mistress grow serious.

"Raphtalia, please go grab our gear and prepare yourself and Sakura for fighting humans." Homura received a quick sound of acknowledgement as she ran off quickly to do as directed.

"What is it Madam Shield?" Lord Ivyred asked as he stood from his chair, his face growing serious.

"I sense several strong magical energies a few kilometers away from your western gate." Homura answered. "I do not know if they are hostiles or not yet, but it is better to be prepared."

Giving him a small bow, she continued, "If you would like to accompany me and my party, you are welcome to. This is your town after all, I am just taking precautions against a continuation from last night."

P-*-*-*-H

About 40 minutes later found Homura and Raphtalia riding in a two-person saddle on Sakura that Lord Ivyred had been kind enough to provide. By their side standing on the ground next to the guard shack was Lord Ivyred and the man posted to stand guard.

Gazing out down the road, about a half kilometer away Homura could make out a group of five heading their way. Two of them looked familiar to her unfortunately, even if they were wearing different armor.

Itsuki Kawasumi, the Hero of the Bow.

Malty Melromarc, the Princess of Melromarc and her accuser.

_Fantastic._

Homura took a deep breath and reminded herself that she was not allowed to kill her fellow heroes and their companions for being idiots.

"Well it appears that it is the Bow Hero and his party." Homura announced to the people accompanying her. "May as well go greet him before he makes a scene at the gate." she muttered to Raphtalia who gave a confused nod.

"We shall go greet them, Lord Ivyred. Please wait here for us." Getting a raised eyebrow but a nod in affirmation, Homura gently urged Sakura forward.

Sakura let out a happy "Kue!" before making her way to the group heading into town. Homura narrowed her eyes slightly when she saw Malty and the large man in full plate armor grab their weapons, but Itsuki was quick to put his arm out to the side and stop them.

"Well, I didn't expect to see you here Akemi." Itsuki called out when he deemed her close enough. Homura let Sakura get closer so she wouldn't have to raise her own voice.

"Hello Kawasumi-senpai. Me and my party happened to have been passing by a nearby town when we were asked if we could deliver some good here. We had no reason to refuse so we made our way here." Homura responded to his unasked question. She smirked a bit in her head as she looked down at him from the back of her tall Filolial and saw him get frustrated about it.

"May I ask what brings you and your party here? According to Amaki-senpai, you were planning to head west to gather materials." Homura countered him, getting a frown in response.

"We were talking to some townsfolk over in Rabier territory not long after we left the Capital. They told us about a corrupt noble up in the north that had been making trouble for more and more territories since just before the first Wave. I decided to head up there and handle him myself. It's our job as heroes to make sure Justice is delivered properly!" Itsuki explained, not seeing a reason to lie to a fellow hero about delivering Justice, even if he felt she needed her own deliverance.

Homura frowned down at him. _'He's letting his power go to his head and believes it gives him authority without actually making sure.'_ she thought to herself. Her eyes darted over to the smirking princess. That would explain things. Now how to convince him to not be an idiot without setting him off?

"I see." she said after a moment. "I myself just learned about this noble a bit ago after talking with Lord Ivyred, who is in charge of this territory. We were just about to talk about how to help him when I sensed you and your party in the distance and decided to come meet you.

"Would you like to come to his home and work out a plan with us? Two heroes have a better chance than just one, would you not agree?" She asked. Hoping that he could see some reason and work with her, rather than blindly following 'Justice' like Sayaka tended to.

Homura watched Itsuki and the responses of his party. Malty and the tall man in armor both frowned, not liking the suggestion of working with her. Itsuki's two other companions, a blonde spear user and another redhead wearing a black cloak that gave off the air of a mage looked conflicted, wanting the assistance but not with her. Itsuki himself looked reasonably contemplative.

"This town was attacked by arsonists last night right before I arrived. Me and my party managed to stop the spreading of the fire on the crops while the townspeople put out the buildings. According to Lord Ivyred, this was after receiving what essentially amounts to a ransom notice from the noble." Homura chipped in, hoping to bring Itsuki more firmly on her side.

Thankfully that seemed to be the right words to say.

"Very well Akemi. I'm willing to work out a plan with you and Lord Ivyred. Maybe you can atone for your sin of assaulting Malty by helping save these poor villagers." Itsuki said, gesturing grandly towards the village.

Homura bit her tongue to keep from lashing out at him, and she turned back towards the gate, doing her best to keep her frustration from leaking into her voice. It wouldn't do to act like a child in front of the Bow Hero and his party.

"Lord Ivyred is waiting by the gate for us with Sakura's carriage. We will escort everyone back to his home and come up with a plan." she said in explanation. "We will go ahead and get ready. See you shortly Kawasumi-senpai."

Without waiting for a response Homura urged Sakura into a run, literally leaving Itsuki and his companions in the dust.

P-*-*-*-H

Not long after, Sakura pulled the carriage up to Lord Ivyred's farmhouse. Homura fought to keep the smirk off her face as she watched Itsuki's dirt covered party climb out of the carriage grumbling, doing her best to ignore the uncomfortable look Raphtalia was shooting her way. Almost as if she was conflicted on whether or not she should be smug about it like Homura was, or to chastise her for improper decorum. It was probably ultimately the fact that Homura managed to keep her face mostly calm that kept Raphtalia from speaking up.

"I apologize for Sakura earlier, Kawasumi-senpai. She hatched barely a week ago, and is learning proper manners." she explained, her voice utterly calm. Itsuki shot her a slightly dirty look.

"If she hatched a week ago, how is she already full grown?" he ground out.

"Ah, apparently monsters and demi humans age up as they level." she explained. A part of her was interested at the fact that this was probably not something in his game. "She is now Level 18. So while not completely full grown as she is still a few levels short from what I was told, the experience gained from most of the monsters in the area has become negligible."

Lord Ivyred whipped around in shock. "Your Filolial reached Level 18 in only a week?!"

"Yes?" Homura said, curious about the shock the Lord was showing. She watched as he moved his jaw, as if trying to say words though nothing came out. Finally, he snapped his jaw closed with a click.

"So that is what the Legendary Heroes are capable of." he muttered. Homura got the impression that this sort of leveling curve was well beyond the norm. Which brought up the question in her mind.

_What exactly is [Experience]?_

Homura had no idea how relevant that question would be later on.

"There's a washroom you and your companions may use down that hall, Sir Bow Hero. It is the second door on your left. I will have my daughter wait here for you all to finish to escort everyone to the dining room." Lord Ivyred said, gesturing down the relevant hallway.

While her fellow hero's group went off to get cleaned up, Homura faced Raphtalia.

"Raphtalia, do you mind going out and playing with Sakura for a bit? She deserves it and I do not think that you would like to have to deal with Kawasumi-senpai or Princess Malty. I will make sure to explain everything to you later." she asked the raccoon girl.

Raphtalia made a conflicted face as she looked down at her Mistress. Looking into her eyes, she tried to figure out what was going on in her head, which she felt she was getting better at. Her Mistress looked annoyed and frustrated at the situation, but she could see the trust for her that was in her eyes. She also noticed that only a part of Mistress' attention was on her, as her eyes kept darting down the hallway that Sir Kawasumi's party had gone down, her eyes calculating.

' _Mistress is trying to figure out how to get them to do what she wants them to do!'_ she realized. That thought was followed up almost immediately with the idea that maybe she felt Raphtalia would be an inconvenience at the meeting. But even as she opened her mouth to voice her opinion, her Mistress spoke first.

"It is not that I do not trust you Raphtalia. I do not trust _them_. While Kawasumi-senpai may not have anything against you, the others in his party are all citizens of Melromarc. It is likely that they hold some level of prejudice against demi-humans such as yourself. As it is, they already know about you being my partner. Between that and Kawasumi-senpai's dislike of me for the Princess' lies, I will have enough of an uphill battle as it is to convince them to not do something stupid. Please, go out and entertain Sakura. We will likely be leaving tomorrow." Mistress explained in that smooth, calm voice.

Raphtalia blushed slightly at being seen through so easily, and at being caught at thinking Mistress thought of her like her previous owner's had. Mistress Homura was definitely a role model for her, kind and guiding mentor that she was.

"Very well Mistress. I wish you luck!" Raphtalia chirped. Getting a nod, she turned and left the farmhouse. She would play with Sakura, but she would also make sure to stick close enough to the house with her sword. After all, you never knew if a meeting would go south, or how fast if it did.

Watching her partner run out of the house to go do as she asked, Homura sighed softly to herself. She couldn't blame the girl for the negative thoughts that she had often enough, because then she would just be a hypocrite. But she was serious, if she had to convince the group to not be stupid and go around killing nobles, then she didn't need to be trying to defend Raphtalia from some stupid prejudice.

Making her way to the dining room, she gathered her thoughts. Trying to work out a vague idea of how the meeting would go and how to handle it. The hardest part was clamping down on her desire to be blunt. Thinking back on her last several loops since she was summoned has made her realize that the way she began handling Sayaka and Mami had been a large reason for them being so confrontational. Because from their perspective she had started it.

That would not do here.

While she didn't have to sugar coat everything, she couldn't just call them idiots and chew them out. For one thing, she was physically younger than them, even if she had more life experience than them from all of the loops she had done. She had realized early on in her arrival here, that she would have to try and act older to be treated with anywhere near the same respect as the other heroes simply by virtue of age.

Remembering her brief conversation with Lord Ivyred this morning bought an idea to mind. _'That could work,'_ she thought to herself as she took a seat at the table, waiting for everyone else to appear.

Lord Ivyred was the first to enter, claiming his seat at the head of the table without pausing or asking questions. Then Rishia opened the door and bowed, letting Itsuki and the Princess enter followed by the others before entering herself. Homura watched as everyone took seats, Itsuki directly across from her, the Princess to his right and the man in armor to his left. Rishia stood behind and to the side of her father, hands clasped in front of her as she looked down at the floor.

"Well I guess I should start with my own explanation to Sir Kawasumi." Lord Ivyred began, then proceeded to explain the same thing he had this morning. Homura was partly glad to see the fury that burned in his eyes, and equally annoyed at seeing the dismissive look in both Malty and Armor's eyes.

' _I wonder, is Armor some kind of nobility as well? Is he like the Princess or this corrupt noble? Does Kawasumi know, or is he being led around on a leash by the two of them?'_ Homura thought but knew now was not the time to raise those questions. She needed Itsuki to be more on her side before calling out his 'companions'.

"Now we definitely have to take care of him before he can do anything else to these people!" Itsuki claimed, standing suddenly, his eyes burning in righteous fury.

"What do you think will happen if we just go out and kill him, Kawasumi-senpai?" she asked, her voice soft but hard as steel. His eyes turned to her in confusion.

"Obviously, these people will be saved! Without the corrupt noble threatening and taxing everything, they'll have money again and can go back to peaceful lives!" he said these things like they were obvious. Homura could only sigh softly.

"What is stopping him from being replaced by someone equally or even more corrupt? What if a loyal follower of his puts out an assassination order on our heads? What if his knights revolt and attack and wipe out our party? Or do they begin killing villagers? What if he has magical explosives placed to bring his home down on whoever kills him to try and kill them as well?" Homura shot out one after the other. Itsuki flinched and stumbled back a bit with each one, his eyes wide as he had obviously not considered any of these possibilities.

"What if the King has you arrested and labeled a criminal for becoming a vigilante and using your perceived authority as a hero to begin killing nobles? What guarantee would he have that you were not holding the Princess hostage to take his head and crown? Why would he hold back on having such a dangerous hero put to the blade?" This last round of questions caused him to collapse back into his chair, his eyes wide in confusion.

"But...Malty said…" he started.

"The Princess has no authority." Homura interrupted sharply. "She is not responsible for any territory, and from the words I've heard on the grapevine, has been renounced for her younger sister by the Queen who is over the King in this country. The only power she has is what her parents will give her from listening to her words."

"We are Heroes, Kawasumi-senpai. We were not summoned to this world to begin killing off nobility because we want to. We were summoned to stop the Waves. If you want to help the citizens of this world, that is perfectly fine. But we have to remember that we can not simply do whatever we want." she continued, forcing her voice to not be as vicious.

"What do _you_ think we should do then?" he ground out, clenching his bow tightly in his fist.

"Bring it to the King's attention. Likelihood is that this noble has kept his dealings out from the eyes and ears of the King, probably by extensive bribery and blackmail. The issue is that if this noble receives word of what we were doing, by myself with my small party, there was no guarantee that this town would still be here by the time I returned." Homura explained. "But if you were to stay here with your party for the maybe week it would take Sakura to make the round trip and defend the town, then I would be much more confident in leaving."

Homura watched as Itsuki turned the idea over in his head, meanwhile Armor stood and slammed his hands on the table.

"You think we'll stay here while you go off gallivanting to get out of this?!" he exclaimed. "How do we know this Shield Demon didn't start the fires herself?! What if she's trying to trick you into letting your guard down so she can have you killed Sir Itsuki?!"

Itsuki could only turn his head in shock to his companion, eyes wide in shock.

"What are you talking about Mald?! I might not like Akemi for assaulting Malty like she did, but why would she want us killed?"

Homura's eyes darted over to the Princess and caught her smirk. So that was the plan. This 'Mald' was apparently just the Princess' mouthpiece, and helped her manipulate the Bow Hero. Time to try and nip this on the bud.

"If you would prefer, Mister Mald, I can watch this town while you with the rest of Kawasumi-senpai's party make the trip back to the capital to inform the King. But I wonder if you would even be able to make it back in time before the next Wave." Homura said, noticing Itsuki glance to the upper corner of his [Status Menu].

"She's right Mald. We would be cutting it awfully close since we only have 16 days left before the next Wave." Itsuki cut off Mald before he could respond. "While I don't know what's gotten into Mald, I'm confident that we're more than strong enough to deal with whoever may show up here. So even if you were planning on having us killed here, I don't think they'll be able to manage it."

The not so subtle ego stroking seemed to bring Mald under control as his angry, red face turned into a smug one, his nose lifting up as he glared down at what he probably thought of as a weak little girl.

Homura wanted to punch his face in but knew that with her shield it wouldn't do anything to help her. Besides launching him halfway across town.

"I have no doubt you can survive anything someone tries to throw at you right now, Kawasumi-senpai." Homura managed to get out without letting her real feelings show through. If all it took was stroking some ego to get him to cooperate, then Homura could stroke some egos here and there. At least it was easier than killing her friends to protect Madoka.

After that, they spent some time ironing out details. Homura would ride Sakura and take Raphtalia and Rishia with her. Rishia was coming along mainly to talk to the King in Lord Ivyred's place, but also so Homura could try to convince her to join her party. She desperately needed someone knowledgeable about this World with her group, it was starting to become a struggle. Plus she was curious to figure out exactly what this [Potential] was, and if it could be taken advantage of to prevent Madoka from contracting when she returned.

Homura managed to also drag out the fact from Itsuki that she needed to see the Hourglass of the Dragon's Era in the Church to be able to travel to the Wave when it occurs. That would've been nice information to receive in the beginning.

While they made the trip back to the capital at top speed, Itsuki and his party would assist in whatever ways they could around town, while being ready to fight off anyone suspicious. Malty and Mald try to protest helping the 'common folk', but Itsuki managed to convince at least Mald.

"Being a Hero of Justice isn't just about smiting evil, we must also always be ready to help someone in need." He had said. While it was enough to frustrate Homura, the sentiment itself she could understand and partly agree with.

They would be setting out first thing tomorrow morning. For now, Homura left to go spend some time with Sakura and Raphtalia. She was a bit surprised when Rishia decided to join them, but happy nonetheless.

* * *

_ **OMAKE! Warning, minor spoilers for volume 17/18 of Rising of the Shield Hero Light Novels** _

_ **"Something to Do" by Orajje** _

Homura cooked some food for herself and Sakura, and Raphtalia. She'd had to do so frequently recently, and had just apparently leveled up her "cooking skill" halfway through this attempt. She narrowed her eyes, but continued. Did that mean item synthesis would work with cooking? She hadn't really looked at that menu much as the only items she would want synthesized were ones she would want to be higher quality. Hmm, she would have to finish this first and check.

After preparing the meal and handing it out, she looked through her menus while eating and found that she could. How convenient, she'd be able to save time, even if this meal tasted noticeably better- "Hey mistress," she looked up to Raphtalia. "This tastes really good!" she exclaimed with a smile on her face right before digging right back in. Sakura quickly agreed enthusiastically before doing the same.

Homura looked down at the item synthesis menu, then back up at the two girls. Both of them were so happy about something so minor...

She sighed. They were working for her. Fighting for her. So the least she could do was cook for a while every day. At least it probably wouldn't be too hard to work on medicines and other things while waiting for food to be cooked.

Much later, she narrowed her eyes at the upgrade method the mirror weapon unlocked. "Food levels". At least her cooking skill was already unbelievably high. So she could just take the power boost and get done with it quickly. But having something like this actually become useful…? She decided to not think about it. Video game mechanics being real was already nonsensical, this was just an extension of that, so it didn't really matter.

P-*-*-*-H

She was finally back. Finally able to save Madoka again. This time with someone who would help her. Raphtalia had come with her.

She also kept all of her skills, magic, and shields. The only things she couldn't bring were Sakura and her levels. Which still made her Monumentally more powerful than she used to be.

The problem being that she was more used to cooking for large groups, or at least larger groups. Which wasn't much of a problem at first as she could just save extra food in her shield for later, but it became one when she realized she'd horribly overfilled her lunch for the first day at school.

Then when she got there she realized it had also been two years since the last time she'd met Madoka, so she just relied on what little skill in communication she'd managed to gain when talking to her. Which was… a little easier than it used to be. The time spent away had allowed her to heal. Just a little. So it didn't fill her with quite as many emotions when she had to hear Madoka speak again, and in the end, she ended up asking to join Madoka and her friends for lunch.

She knew better than to rely just on herself now. So she'd have to do her best to make them trust her.

As she sat across from her former friends and pulled out her meal, they all looked at her meal questioningly, and with a little bit of envy. Presumably because of how well made it looked. "Are you really going to eat all of that?" Sayaka questioned.  
She sighed, and responded. "No, I accidentally made too much this morning and didn't realize I had overfilled mine until I had to leave." Madoka seemed to be staring at it, causing her to raise an eyebrow in confusion.

Madoka quickly looked embarrassed and panicked. "Ah! I'm sorry! It just looked so delicious I couldn't help staring…"

She lowered her eyebrow, and responded in her normal neutral tone as the other two watched. "If you want, you may have some. I have plenty of extra." Sayaka quickly made a betrayed sound, and even Hitomi looked a little disappointed. Causing her to sigh. "You can both have some to." which immediately cheered both of them up.

Then they all took a bite, and looks of… amazement crossed over their faces. "This is delicious Homura!" they all said, at the exact same time.

It was a little unnerving how synced it was, but she was happy Madoka was happy. When she asked whether they would like her to continue bringing some extra food, Madoka tried to disagree, but after she said it wasn't an inconvenience, and cooking was a soothing act for her, Madoka caved. The other two just heartily agreed.

Many things happened throughout the timeline, but lunch with her friends became… standard. Routine even, and they always said her cooking was some of the best they had ever tasted. She just neutrally let their compliments pass over her. She was happy with the affection, but she was only halfway responsible for her cooking mastery. So she didn't quite feel like she deserved the praise for her skill. But she did agree the food was good. Her cooking skill was maxed after all.

She didn't get why Madoka seemed to get even more friendly around her then she remembered, especially after she killed Walpurgisnacht. She didn't quite understand why she kept dragging her around to so many places, often with just the two of them, but she never complained. How could she complain about finally being able to hang out with her best friend without worrying about some horrific fate?

Although she did feel a spike of jealousy when she overheard a conversation between Madoka, Hitomi, and Sayaka when she entered the class once. A conversation where Madoka said she actually had someone she was interested in. But Homura ignored it. She was happy with whatever Madoka gave her, and she would let her be with whoever she wanted. She wanted Madoka to be happy after all.

Which was why she was surprised when Madoka confessed to her. Confessed how she was amazing at everything she did, how she was amazing, how she had kept her promise and saved her. She also confessed about how much she loved her cooking, repeatedly, to the point that Homura remembered just how food focused Madoka could be from some of the better timelines. Madoka then continued on how all those amazing qualities made homura the girl she loved.

… ah.

Maybe cooking was worth something more than a tool or way to pay back those who followed her.

Later, when she told Raphtalia what happened, she laughed at her, then asked Madoka if she could join the relationship.

Homura just buried her face in her hands at these two food lovers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So this is about 2 weeks later than I had been planning on posting this. But Happy late Thanksgiving for my US readers!
> 
> This is the first omake for PotH and it was written by my friend Orajje after talking about some of the shenanigans from the newest light novels. It was to good for me to not share it, so with his permission here it is. He occasionally posts PMMM fics under the same name, I definitely recommend checking him out. Especially Consequences! The plans he has for that one are GLORIOUS!


	9. Rush to the Capital

**Chapter 9**

**_ Rush to the Capital _ **

Homura watched a still half asleep Raphtalia and Rishia clamber up into the fixed-up carriage that Lord Ivyred had been kind enough to reinforce to endure a rushed trip to the capital. Turning her attention back to Sakura, she made sure to pet the happy bird that seemed to have grown another 40 cm (16 inches) over the last two days here while strapping her to the carriage. Homura hoped that Sakura wouldn’t grow much more, as is she was already the largest Filolial she had seen.

“Now remember Sakura, I need you to go as fast as you can without breaking the carriage. We will be stopping for lunch and dinner. As soon as we make it to the capital, I will make sure to feed you a feast for a good job. Is that a deal?” Homura asked, knowing just how much she was asking of the week-old bird to run essentially nonstop for two days.

Sakura seemed to find nothing wrong with it, ruffling her feathers while leaning into Homura’s pets as much as possible, cooing happily. Almost as if she would do anything for her if it would make her happy. It made Homura smile softly.

Sakura really did remind her of Madoka, in a good way. It made her remember some things that she had forgotten, hyper focusing so much on trying to keep her from contracting over almost everything else.

Her heart hurt as the guilty feeling washed over her once again. What was happening back in her world while she was _stuck_ here, _playing Hero_? She had no guarantee that she would wake up back in her hospital room. She didn’t know if her powers would return, or if whatever new powers she gained here would carry with her.

_Would she return to her world to find it barren of people, Madoka’s Witch having delivered them all in rapture? To Salvation?_

Forcing the thought from her mind, she forced her emotions back into the desert sands of her heart, letting her face go blank. Even if she no longer bore her soul gem, she would not allow herself to fall into despair. Focus on the task at hand, keep moving forward.

Climbing up into the driver’s spot, even if she found it pointless as Sakura was more than capable of navigating by herself, she had learned that Sakura wouldn’t stand for anything less. Holding her hand over her shield, she withdrew a vial of medicine and gave it to Raphtalia.

“Drink this. I made sure to grab you medicine for your motion sickness from the local apothecary. If it turns out to not be enough, I made sure to also get some medicine that will force you to sleep.” Homura explained to the teenage girl, Rishia looking on slightly confused even as Raphtalia made a face of disgust. Homura could only roll her eyes.

“I know you hate medicine; I have had to take my fair share of bad medicine. But we have to make quick time, and we can’t do that if we’re stopping every 15 minutes for your motion sickness.” Seeing her grimace and finally choke down the medicine, she turned her attention to Rishia.

“Have you said goodbye to your parents?” she asked the older girl.

“Fuee!” Rishia let out a high-pitched squeak at suddenly being addressed. Turning her eyes down to her lap as she played with the fabric of her dress.

“I-I have, Dame Akemi. We can leave anytime.” Rishia stuttered out.

Homura had to bite back her frustration. Rishia reminded her all too much of herself in her earlier loops. She _knew_ how to deal with someone like that since she had been there, but it was going to be _so frustrating_.

“Please take a deep breath Rishia.” She finally instructed. “I do not plan to do anything besides ask you some questions as we travel. It can be hard to speak at first if you are not used to it.”

Speaking from experience again, she had travelled fast over rough roads in cars before when she was younger. Or even more recently, running and jumping fast over buildings and the messed-up terrain of Labyrinths. She remembered a few loops where Sayaka had even completely bit off her tongue trying to talk while bouncing around in spars with Mami or Kyoko. At the time, Homura herself had panicked when it happened the first couple of times. Then when she became more desensitized to everything and gotten used to Sayaka’s healing, it had become much more amusing.

Doing one last check to make sure everything and everyone was properly secured, she gave Sakura the order to start running. Even she was surprised at the sudden lurch of intense speed that she managed. It was almost as if the carriage wasn’t even there and they almost immediately reached speeds that could be compared to a car.

If Sakura were able to maintain this pace for the entirety of the day, then they would highly likely reach Castle Town shortly after lunch tomorrow.

“So-so fast!” she heard Rishia exclaim from the back. Turning around to check on the two girls in the back, she saw that Raphtalia was pale and clenching the bench she was sitting on tight enough to splinter the wood, an expression of intense discomfort on her face. Rishia on the other hand openly wore her shock on her face, her coloring only slightly paler than usual.

“M-Mistress, how are you not bothered by this?” Raphtalia managed to grit out seeing how unbothered she was despite all of the jostling. Homura decided that she could humor the girl with some knowledge from her world.

“Because in my world, we regularly travel much faster than this, for some people multiple times a day, and for extended periods of time.” She spoke loudly, making sure she could be heard over the wind.

“Humans in my world as a general rule do not possess magic, so we made machines to do everything for us more effectively than any animal can. Several of these machines were designed to transport people and cargo over land as quickly as possible, some for personal use, some for large groups of people numbering in the hundreds.” Homura felt a bit bad when Raphtalia groaned at the thought while Rishia just looked fascinated.

“How does Sakura’s speed compare to these travel machines?” Rishia asked. Homura glanced back at her. A small fire of desire was in her eyes. Apparently, she was a curious girl, one who wanted to know as much as possible. Homura could work with that.

“She is going about as fast as cars are legally allowed to go within most areas of a city.” She finally answered. “But considering her level, and the fact that this world has levels, it is possible that she may end up being able to go faster than anything we have on land.”

Rishia blinked several times, several questions forming on her lips but unable to decide which one she wanted to know more right now. Raphtalia just buried her face into the top of her backpack that she had started hugging to herself. Homura honestly felt a bit bad for the raccoon girl, but time was of the essence. Especially since she did not trust the Princess or the one in armor to not sneak off, or worse convince Kawasumi to take matters into his own hands.

Thankfully, the trip for the day went pretty quickly answering and asking questions back and forth with Rishia, and occasionally Raphtalia when something piqued her interest. They stopped for an hour for lunch, allowing the huffing Sakura to take a good rest. They then pushed on until the fading light of twilight began to cover the sky in darkness. Allowing Sakura to rest while Homura cooked dinner, she directed and watched Raphtalia go through her solo training and noticed Rishia watching with some interest.

“I could teach you the basics if you would like, Rishia.” Homura said, deciding that everything she had been preparing for Sakura was done. She began to load up several large monster steaks and a variety of vegetables onto a large wooden slab, knowing she’d need to provide the exhausted bird with plenty of proteins and carbs if she was going to survive the rest of the trip to the castle tomorrow.

“Fueh?!” Rishia made her usual sound of surprise at Homura’s sudden suggestion. Turning around to stare wide eyed at the younger girl, she blinked as she watched Homura pet Sakura and coo softly while the bird began to eat. It was always a bit shocking to see just how open and caring the brunette was with her Filolial when she was rather reserved and curt with people.

“I-I don’t think I could do anything like that. Physical classes were the only ones I ever failed when I went to school in Faubley.” Rishia tried to explain. She could never make it even halfway through the class before collapsing in exhaustion. She would much, _much_ , rather hide in the library with all the books, left to read to her heart’s content.

Rishia couldn’t help but cower slightly when Homura turned and gave her a sharp look, but was confused when her eyes seemed to almost immediately glaze over.

“I used to be so much like you,” she finally said, idly making her way back to the pot where she was making stew for the three of them. “Before I learned how to use my magic to heal my heart. I would become exhausted just doing the warm up stretches. I even wore my hair in two separate braids like you do.”

Rishia looked at the girl in shock. She couldn’t imagine this person, the _Shield Hero_ , being anything like her.

“But then I was attacked by a Witch, and learned I had the capability to use magic. I eventually learned how to access my magic, I helped fight Witches with my friends. But even though I had magic, I was still the one being protected, and _I hated it_. So I changed that. I learned to fight, I learned to heal my heart that had been weak since I was born. I made myself stronger and stronger as it was never enough. Eventually I became the _Protector_ instead of the _protected_.” Homura seemed to bite down on her thoughts when she realized she was starting to ramble.

When she turned her attention to the other girls, she saw all of them, even Sakura, were staring at her with various expressions of shock or curiosity. Rishia looked like she had _oh so many_ questions, but had the propriety to refrain from asking for now at least. That was a small mercy at least, cause Homura wasn’t sure if she wanted to even deal with hearing the questions after how in depth some of the ones earlier could be.

“So would you like to learn Rishia? It would probably just be the basics tonight.” Homura asked as she plated up the meal for the three of them, bringing the subject back around to the original topic. Rishia finally gave a slow hesitant nod as she took her bowl.

“Please teach me Dame Akemi.” Homura had a small look of satisfaction grow on her face at the answer.

“Very well.”

She figured out very quickly after they began that she was going to be sore for a long while. Rishia couldn’t help that she just made a mistake.

P-*-*-*-H

Homura looked up as the gates to the Castle Town came into view. It was at that time that she had Sakura ease back into a slower trot. The filolial was gasping and noticeably tired, making Homura feel bad about how hard she pushed her, so she made a mental note to try and spend tomorrow allowing her to rest. Pending she could convince the King to send his own envoy back to the Ivyred Territory, because she honestly did not want to deal with Kawasumi or the Princess if she didn’t have to.

“So first thing first, we need to find some place for Sakura to rest and Raphtalia to watch her. Then Rishia and I will seek a meeting with the King.” Homura told the girls to both refresh their memories of the rough plan and to get them back on to the current mission after two days of traveling. Getting a nod from both of them, Homura focused specifically on Rishia.

“Then you will have to make a decision on if you want to stay with us.” she finally said after a pause, trying to keep her voice calm and level. It wouldn’t do to scare off someone she wanted in her party because she used a sharp tongue on one who scares easily, even if she’s seen what lies underneath her surface. “Unlike us, you have a family to return to. I want for you to be certain about your decision.”

Getting a hesitant nod of understanding, Homura turned her gaze back forward towards the approaching gatehouse.

“Reason for visiting?” the guard asked as he approached her cart. Homura could see the slight suspicion in his eyes at her exhausted filolial and the wagon that had obviously seen better days.

“I seek an audience with the King.” she spoke clearly, wanting to make sure he heard her clearly. When his eyes widened and he appeared to about to chastise her, she shifted her shield from the form she was currently working to unlock to her basic Small Shield, then back. The expression he made made Homura think he had just tried to swallow his tongue in shock.

“Ma-Madam Shield Hero!” the guard exclaimed. “Um. Yes. Well. Yes. I need you to submit your carriage for investigation.” he finally said after bumbling over his words. Homura gave him a nod.

Homura nodded to the reasonable request. Turning around to address the girls in the back, she missed the look of shock and countenance that flashed across the guard’s face.

“Rishia, Raphtalia, please make room for the guard to do his inspection.” she instructed, watching them step out and hold the back open for the guard to enter and look through the cart.

Thankfully the inspection only took a few minutes once the guard was able to shake himself into doing his job. Homura however did not miss the scowl on his face when he finished.

“You’re clear to enter Madam Shield.” he ground out. It took a moment for the magical girl to remember the words of Erhard and his warning about the Church of Three Heroes. Forcing herself to not frown at the man, she instead pushed out a small smile and thanked the man for his time, getting a look of confusion from the guard.

“Before I go, can you please give me some quick directions to Erhard the Blacksmith’s? I need to make a quick stop before meeting with the King.” she asked, it had been a while and she wanted to make sure she knew how to get to his store. Getting her answer, she urged Sakura to continue through the gate.

Letting the smile drop from her face, Homura guided Sakura down a few different roads until she arrived outside a familiar shop, a sign with an anvil and hammer hanging from the door.

“Mister Erhard’s?” Raphtalia asked, confusion in her voice. Homura gave a nod as she jumped down from the driver’s seat.

“I am hoping he can direct you and Sakura to a spot to rest for the time we are here in town. Meanwhile, I plan to go talk to the King with Rishia.” Homura explained, punching some numbers in her head before depositing a small leather bag with a small amount of silver from her shield. She then proceeded to hand the bag to Raphtalia.

“Keep your ears and tail covered, find a place with a nice stable for Sakura to rest in that we can park our wagon at, and a room large enough for the three of us. Whatever coins are left over, go grab you and Sakura some food. Hopefully the meeting with the King will not take too long.” Raphtalia gave a nod of understanding.

“But Mistress, how will you find us?” A reasonable question.

“Your magic is distinct enough to me, I am pretty sure I can find you from the castle.” Homura explained, getting a look of shock from both Raphtalia and Rishia. Not giving them a chance to ask more questions for the moment, she gestured to Raphtalia to go.

“Come Rishia, the sooner we get this meeting done with the better. Raphtalia, get some rest with Sakura please.” Homura said, getting a nod from both of them before spinning on her heels and making her way down to the main road, trusting Raphtalia to do what was needed.

Homura let the silence hang between her and Rishia, who looked deep in thought, for a while as they walked to the castle.

“Rishia,” she finally said, startling Rishia out of her thoughts.

“Fueh?!” Rishia squealed softly at being startled. Homura struggled to keep her annoyance at the high-pitched sound off her face.

“I hope you have made your decision on if you wish to join my party or not. Because I need to know if I need to inform the King that you require transport back to your town or not.”

“Oh. Umm…” Rishia stumbled in her thoughts and steps. Gathering herself as best as she could, she looked down at the ground, playing with her skirt that she was wearing. She thought back over the last couple of days. Rishia had been impressed with the amount of knowledge and intellect that the Shield Hero had at her young age. Disbelieving that the cool, strong Shield Hero claimed to have once been like her. Amazed at the patience and skill displayed walking her through basic exercises and combat training.

“I...would like to join you for at least a while longer, Dame Akemi.” she finally said, the gates for the castle coming into view. “I want to say I’ll gladly stand by your side like Raphtalia does so easily, but I’m too much of a coward. I want to learn how to stand up for myself, but I don’t know if I can stand up to the Waves that we’ll have to fight.”

Homura listened patiently to the older girl. She felt for her, she truly did. She felt that she’d never been good at talking to others. If she were, she wouldn’t have so many issues trying to get her friends in her world to just _listen_. But here, in this world, she wasn’t sure if she would get another chance with her normal magic sealed, or if she’d even get back to her world. So she was forced to slow down, choose her words as carefully as possible to try and build up her strength as much as possible. And because of the Shield on her arm that bought her here, she had to have _allies_. 

Homura came to a sudden stop just outside of earshot of the guards standing outside the gates of the castle. Turning to face the green haired girl, she spoke the words that she felt would do the best job while conveying her feelings.

“I still stand by what I said before Miss Rishia. You have great potential inside of you. Enough to make a difference. I can not force you to fight, but I will make sure that if you travel with me that you will be able to at least fight for yourself until I can get there to protect you. If you choose to fight, I will make sure to do my best to make you as strong as you can be while serving as your shield. But if you simply wish to travel with and teach me more knowledge about your world, that will be enough for me.”

Rishia stared at the younger girl in shock. She could tell that she was being genuine. Rishia had never been able to believe in herself and couldn’t believe any compliments given to her from others, but this was coming from one of the Legendary Heroes. It was hard for an honest girl like her to call the Shield Hero a liar.

“If...if the Madam Shield Hero is the one making the promise, then I would like to learn to fight.” Rishia managed to get out. 

Homura looked at her, watching her face for something. What, Rishia couldn’t even begin to think of, but she did her best to keep eye contact with the Shield Hero. Finally, she nodded.

“Very well then. We will have to stop by Erhard’s before we leave to get you some gear. But now we must meet with the King. Are you ready?”

Rishia gave a nod, slightly jarred by the sudden change of pace from Homura. As soon as she got assent from her companion, she continued walking up to the Castle gates.

“Madam Shield Hero? What are you here for?” one of the guards asked.

“I seek an audience with his Majesty, King Aultcray, concerning some information that I received that I believe he would like to be made aware of.” Homura answered, keeping her face set in a neutral expression.

That guard raised an eyebrow but waved over a passing servant.

“What can I do for you Sir Knight?” the servant asked with a bow.

“You are to pass a message on to his Majesty that the Madam Shield Hero is seeking an audience. Now go. Be quick about it.” the knight ordered. The servant bowed deeper before running off to do as directed.

It was about 15 minutes later that the gate opened to reveal a familiar person to Homura. Amelia stood there, hands folded neatly in front of her while the gate opened. Homura couldn’t help but notice as she approached that her maid outfit was a bit fancier and looked to be made from higher quality materials.

“Good afternoon Lady Akemi.” Amelia said with a bow. “I am here to escort you and your companion to his Majesty’s office.”

“Amelia, it is nice to see you again.” Homura greeted her with a small smile, “I hope you have been well?” she asked as she fell in step behind the maid.

“I have been very well since we last met my Lady.” Amelia replied with a large smile. “I have even received a promotion of sorts when his Majesty accepted me and granted me the position of your handmaiden. I now am considered one of the head maids in the Castle and am to be your personal liaison for you when you are present in the Castle.”

“Congratulations.” Homura returned seriously. Promotions were considered a fairly big thing in her home world. While Homura herself had little in depth understanding about the actual duties of a maid, let alone a maid in the medieval time period, she felt that Amelia was more than capable enough to have deserved the promotion.

“If I may ask, do you know what kind of mood the King is in?” Homura asked. It would do well to have an idea of how to approach the upcoming sensitive conversation based off of if he was already angry or some other negative mood.

“When he called for me, he seemed annoyed at having his work disturbed but interested in what a Legendary Hero would deem important enough to bring directly to his attention.” Amelia answered, slowing down as they were approaching a slightly more ornate pair of doors than the others around them. Homura gave a nod of understanding and gestured to the door.

Amelia took a small deep breath before knocking firmly on the doors. Loudly enough to be heard through the thick closed doors, she announced as clearly as possible.

“Your Majesty, I have arrived with my Lady Akemi and her companion.”

“You may enter.” came the muffled reply.

With that, Amelia pushed open the door and bowed deeply to Homura and Rishia while making sure there was plenty of room for them to pass. As Homura entered, she took a quick look around the office she found herself in. Towards the back, in the middle of the room sat Aultcray at an ornate wooden desk stacked high with papers and various books. The walls were filled with shelves and bookcases filled to the brim with books and various devices, some of which Homura could feel various amounts of magic emanating from.

“Lady Akemi, welcome.” Aultcray said, setting his quill to the side and folding his hands over the paper he had been working on, his deep voice ringing with the authority of his station. “While I am not above welcoming one of the Heroes back into my castle, I will admit to finding myself...curious, as to what you deemed of such vital importance to seek an audience with me directly instead of going through the Adventurer’s Guild like your fellow Heroes.”

Homura frowned ever so slightly, filing away the note to ask Rishia about this ‘Adventurer’s Guild’ later tonight. Stepping forward and giving the King a small bow, Homura answered his question.

“While I am here to save the world from the Waves, there is nothing that says I can not try to help out the people of the world. To that end, while I was traveling north, I ended up approaching the Ivyred’s Territory.” Here Homura paused for a small moment, watching to see if the King allowed any tells to show on his face. However, his face remained set in a mask of careful neutrality.

“As I neared the village in my carriage, we saw their crops and some of the outer buildings catch aflame. After assisting in extinguishing the flames and saving what we could, I had a meeting with Lord Ivyred.” Holding her hand over the jewel on her shield, she withdrew the letter that had been given to her, the same one that Rishia’s father received demanding for Rishia herself. Stepping forward she set the letter on the edge of the King’s table before stepping back to a proper distance.

“He informed me that he had received this letter from a noble in a Northern Territory, on the border of Melromarc. Shortly after Kawasumi-senpai and his party arrived in the same town, though they were originally just passing through. Apparently, they had heard that the same noble was excessively taxing his land into poverty, and steadily taking over several of the smaller territories near his own through...more subtle means.

“Kawasumi-senpai and his party were on their way to...forcefully remove the noble on, supposedly, your daughter’s authority.” Homura was internally satisfied to see the flinch and shock on his face at that final sentence. The letter was held in his hand, seemingly forgotten for the moment in his shock.

“Malty should know she doesn’t possess that authority!” he roared, slamming his hands on to his desk, standing. Homura forced herself to remain as calm as possible even as the heavy magical presence that had been restrained and hidden from her suddenly flared to life. Very much like a startled and angry lion.

“I do not know what the Princess was thinking, your Majesty. All I know is what Kawasumi-senpai told me. I managed to convince them to stay in Ivyred Territory while I traveled here to inform you.” Homura stated, maintaining eye contact with Aultcray. After a while, he simply frowned and sat back down in his chair.

“You, young lady, are you the Rishia spoked of in these letters?” he asked, holding up the papers Homura gave him at the start of the meeting. Rishia gave a shaky nod, not trusting her voice.

“Come here.” he said after a pause. Rishia hesitantly walked up to the large desk. The King frowned a bit more before pointing a finger at her.

**“I am the Wise King who has understood Nature’s Laws and demand it,**

**Banish all tricks and lies that effect this soul! Return her to her truest self so I may know the truth!**

**[Dritte Cleansing]!”**

“FUEH?!” Rishia made a loud gasp of surprise at the King’s sudden and rapid casting of Dritte class magic that washed over her without any warning. The light from his spell faded from her quickly, revealing her holding her hands up in front of her face even as her entire body shook at the instinctual fright from the strength of his magic. Slowly she lowered her shaking hands and looked around in slight shock.

“N-nothing happened?” she stuttered out fearfully.

“Rishia, is anything the Shield Hero spoken here a lie?” Aultcray demanded.

“Fueh! No! Dame Akemi hasn’t lied at all!” she spoke, shocked that the King would think one of the Heroes would lie.

“Your Majesty,” Homura interrupted any more questions, “I felt that as Heroes from other worlds, we had no right to interfere so directly in your world politics. However, the other Heroes…” Homura grimaced. She didn’t want to admit it, even if she knew it were the truth.

“The other Heroes, what? Madam Shield Hero?” Aultcray asked, turning his attention back to her.

“They believe this world is a game. As they recognize it from a form of entertainment that exists in our world. So because of that, they have the belief that they can do as they please, and everything they do will end up doing good. They...might not even believe that the people in this world are truly alive, nor that they can actually die.” Homura said after a moment.

The King frowned deeply.

“That is a grave accusation to throw at your fellow Heroes, Shield.” Aultcray said, his voice darkening in anger.

“You do not have to accept my words now, your Majesty.” Homura tried to soothe, she knew that as she was now, from that display from earlier, the King could kill her if he desired. “But please, I ask you, keep an eye and ear on their actions. Especially the consequences of their actions. I plan to try and show them reason, but that will take some time. Especially since we have to operate separately from each other.”

Homura and Aultcray eyed each other, Rishia’s eyes darting between the both of them. Finally, the King spoke.

“I will send an envoy through Ivyred Territory to meet with the Bow Hero and his party, then they will continue on to the noble in question. An official investigation will be done on _my authority_. I hope that you are not wasting my time, Shield Hero. I expect to see you at the Wave in two weeks. You are dismissed.”

Homura bowed a bit deeper than she would normally before backing out of the office, aware of the King’s gaze on her the entire time.

As they exited the office, Amelia closed the door behind them, looking just as spooked and startled as the other two.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen his Majesty like that.” she muttered softly. Homura shot a curious look.

“Have you worked here long Amelia?” she asked.

“I started working here 3 years ago.” Amelia answered, making her way back to gate. “Is there anything else you need while you’re here, Madam Akemi?”

“No,” she answered with a sigh. “We need to go to Erhard’s to get Rishia some equipment, and I need to talk to him about a request I have. Then we need to meet up with the rest of my party, and I have to spoil my filolial for getting us here as fast as she did.”

“Oh? You have a filolial now?” Homura nodded.

“She’s a bright pink filolial named Sakura, a type of flower that blooms in my world.”

“She must be gorgeous!” Amelia squealed softly. Homura blinked in slight shock. She wouldn’t have pegged Amelia to think that large birds were cute.

When they finally reach the gates, they turned and faced each other.

“It was a pleasure seeing you again Madam Akemi, and it was nice meeting you Lady Rishia. Hopefully next time it is under better circumstances.” Amelia said, giving a deep bow, which Homura returned with a shallower one.

“It was nice to see you again Amelia. Take care of yourself. I will introduce you to Sakura the next time we are here.”

“It was nice meeting you as well!” Rishia said, her own bow almost as deep as Amelia’s.

Homura looked up to the sky that was slowly turning orange, informing her of just how long they had spent here.

“Let’s hurry Rishia. I want to make sure we catch Erhard before he closes, especially so we can spend tomorrow drilling you in the basics.” the magical girl said before moving off in a hurry.

“Fueh! Dame Akemi, please wait for me!” Rishia squealed softly, trying to catch up to her new trainer.

P-*-*-*-H

King Aultcray stared at the door as Rishia, the Shield Hero and her handmaiden left his office.

Looking at the Shield Hero filled him with conflicting emotions. If a young man had been summoned like with the other three Heroes, it would be so much easier to hate him. At least then images of his late younger sister wouldn’t haunt him. Or at least would do so in a different way.

Slowly, he stood from his chair, staring down at the letter she had given to him. Her story about what was going on in his own kingdom. _The accusation against his daughter_.

But was it wrong? He had already determined that Malty had lied about the physical assault on her person. Had a young man been summoned; would she have accused him of rape? Would he have moved to protect the man, or let him fall and burn like the God of those filthy animals should?

Making his way over to the window to look over the town that his wife ruled over, he remembered some of the things his wife had tried to tell him about Malty. But he was a father, and Malty was his first born, he had refused to believe what he had thought had been lies about her. Looking down he saw the Shield Hero being escorted across the bridge to the gate by her handmaiden. Something was said that caused the maid to laugh happily.

“If Lucia had survived, would she have gotten the chance to laugh like that with friends?” he asked softly. Clenching the windowsill tightly, his mind was filled with the images of the destroyed cottage, the large deep claw marks making it obvious that a Hakuko had been responsible for them. The small splashes of blood that magic had determined to belong to his sister. The banners carried by that blasted Tiger King’s army emblazoned with the crest of the Shield Hero. His anger blazed brightly.

The young lady with long black hair and a face like a doll’s looking up at him from beside the other Heroes. Her eyes filled with surprise, grief, love and pain beneath a mask of indifference. Her shame and embarrassment at being exposed in front of her fellow Heroes that she had been trying to impress. The obvious care she had for other people. His anger smoldered and he felt sadness and regret.

 _“The Shield is a weapon meant to protect.”_ he remembered his wife telling a young Melty in a story about the heroes. He remembered scoffing at the time and getting punished by Mirellia. _“The Shield provides shelter and help to those in need.”_

Maybe his wife’s words had been the truth. But why would those wild demi humans need protection? What about his younger sister who had been killed by those savage animals?

Reaching up, Aultcray massaged his now throbbing temples. Why was his head pounding so badly?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So here's a Merry Christmas chapter from me! I hope it came out ok, as this should be the next to last 'Filler' chapter before we get back to the canon material. Nervous and excited because we're about to get into some serious action, and I have to start playing with the 'consequences' of Homura getting so many party members early.
> 
> I hope everyone who reads this around when it was posted has a good Holiday season for whatever holiday you observer in this time period, and I wish everyone a blessed New Year!


	10. Wave of Faeries

**Chapter 10**

**_ Wave of Faeries _ **

Homura walked slightly ahead of Rishia, head turned in conversation with her even as she led the way back to Erhard’s.

“Dame Akemi, do you know what you’d like for me to do?” Rishia eventually managed to ask. It was very slow going, but between her and Raphtalia they were starting to get Rishia more comfortable with conversation. While she would stutter and freak out at the start of them, talking became more and more natural the more she kept on going.

“You said that you know a decent bit of magic spells, some specifically for combat. I would like to try and have you fill in as a ranged combatant since I can no longer fill that role. But I want you to also be capable of at least defending yourself in melee combat, both for if you run out of magic or ammunition and if you get attacked.” Homura explained, having been thinking about it for the last couple of days.

“Fue!” Rishia gasped, probably not having expected an answer as fast as she had gotten one. Homura stopped, turning to face Rishia, Erhard’s shop in view a ways down the street. Now that she had gotten close enough, she was able to get a far more precise location on Raphtalia and Sakura. If she was remembering the town layout correctly, then they found a small inn not too far from the gate that she had seen traders stopping at often when she was first here.

“Is there a problem Rishia?” she asked, trying to keep her voice calm, and not let her frustration show. _‘Remember Homura; losing control of your emotions is what drove away your friends.’_ She thought to herself, taking a small deep breath. It had been hard, coming to and accepting that conclusion, but between the shock of being summoned to another world and slowly talking about some things with Raphtalia she had been able to come to that realization.

“I-I’m just worried that I won’t be able to meet Dame Akemi’s expectations of me...that I’ll be the reason that one of us might...die, fighting something like the Waves.” she said, looking down at the ground. “I’m...not strong or good at fighting. I’m just a talentless loser. So...I just...I don’t see what you see in someone like me…”

Homura regarded her for a minute in silence. Then two. Finally, she spoke.

“You chose to fight.” Homura finally said. “Not for fame. Or glory. Barely even for yourself. You are scared, terrified of what may happen. You know very well what may happen. But yet you are here with me, the youngest and most disliked of the Four Heroes in Melromarc. You could have chosen to go with Kawasumi-senpai, but you did not. It will most certainly not happen overnight, but I can see the [Potential] within you. I will protect you, and train you. Whatever may happen, I know that you will be right there with me, alongside Raphtalia and Sakura, and whoever else may join us against the Waves. So, I ask,” here Homura paused, holding out her hand, “Trust me.”

Slowly, hesitantly, Rishia reached out and grabbed a hold of Homura’s hand.

“I guess...I can trust the Shield Hero…” Rishia told her, shaking her hand slightly. Homura gave her what she hoped was a comforting smile.

“Now let us stop at Erhard’s store before we go to the inn. There are some pieces I would like to commission while we are here in town.” Homura said, letting go and turning back towards the store.

“Welcome to my-! Well, if it isn’t the Shield Lass! Welcome back! And who’s this lovely little lady?” Erhard’s voice boomed as the pair walked into the store, stepping out from behind his counter to greet the hero and her companion.

“Fuee!!” Rishia gasped loudly, hiding as much as possible behind Homura’s armored form. Homura couldn’t completely blame the girl. Erhard, with his tall, heavily muscled and scarred physique, cut an intimidating presence. Not helped by the aura of strength and power that he wore like a subtle but prideful cloak.

“Rishia, do not be rude. Mister Erhard has been a huge help in making sure Raphtalia and I are ready to fight the Waves, and he will do the same for you. Please introduce yourself properly.” Homura said, trying to keep her amusement from showing too much. While she would’ve had a similar reaction when she first contracted, an angry Kyoko personally carried a much more intimidating presence than Erhard did. She chuckled a bit at the reaction she figured they both would have if she mentioned it out loud.

Both Erhard and Rishia looked at her when she started chuckling, but Rishia finally stepped out into the open after a moment, her movements hesitant. When she was no longer behind the former magical girl, she bowed deeply.

“H-hello Mister Erhard, my name is Rishia Ivyred. I am the newest companion of Dame Akemi. Please treat me well.” she introduced herself. Erhard rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“Ivyred, eh? That noble family up to the north? Good people, your parents.” Clapping his large hand onto her shoulder with a casual motion, Rishia almost crumpled immediately. “Nice to meet you lassie! If you’re anything like your parents, I think we’ll get along well.” Erhard laughed boisterously. Turning to face Homura, he crossed his massive arms across his equally massive chest and gave her a large grin.

“And what can I do for you and your noble friend today Shield Lass?” he asked.

 _‘Bastard knows he is going to make a pretty penny today,’_ Homura thought, rolling her eyes. Not that she blamed him, and he was still a good person, but making good money was enough to put anyone in a good mood.

“We’re here to see about getting some items commissioned, and to buy Rishia some gear to cover until then.” Homura stated, brushing past Erhard toward the leather armor pieces he had on display. Rishia glanced between the two of them before quickly shuffling after Homura, muttering a quick soft, “Pardon me.”

Homura let her eyes run over the leather armor pieces on display. For the most part, nothing stood out as being special, which was honestly fine with her since they were going to commission some hopefully higher quality armor. Looking at Rishia, who was looking over the armor with an untrained eye, she rolled her eyes in a slightly affectionate way.

“Pick some armor along the lines of what Raphtalia wears,” she gave some advice. “It only has to last and work for a week or two while we wait for Erhard to finish your own armor.”

“Y-yes Dame Akemi!” Rishia responded, the green haired girl scrambling to grab some simple leather armor pieces that looked like they would fit.

“Umm, Mister Erhard, is there somewhere I can try these on?” She asked the blacksmith.

“Sure, there’s a dressing room you can use over there.” He responded, waving to a little side area of his store. Rishia bowed again, holding the armor to her chest as she did so before turning around and near running into the room. Homura let out a small sigh.

“Troubles lass?” Erhard asked her.

“She is just so painfully shy. It brings back...mostly unpleasant memories for me. She is trying, I can see that, but I think it is going to be a while before she has grown anywhere near out of it.” Homura answered back. Without waiting for a response, she made her way over to the section that was filled with what appeared to be a variety of ranged weaponry, ranging from throwing picks to bows and crossbows.

“You know this world better than I do, for a ranged user using primarily magic, what kind of weapons would you recommend they arm themselves with? Preferably back-up ranged weapons for when magic needs to be conserved and a close-range side arm of sorts.” Homura asked, letting her eyes roam over the assortment of various weapons. Some of them she had never seen before, which kind of surprised her at first until she realized they might just be world unique weapons.

“Hmm? I take it that this is for the new lass?” Erhard asked, scratching his chin in thought. Homura answered with a simple nod.

“I think I have an idea of something that might cover both in one package, just for you Madam Shield Lass!” He laughed happily at her annoyed huff, heading back into what Homura knew was his storeroom where she heard him rummaging through some boxes or shelves.

While she was waiting, she heard the door to the changing room open and the slow shy shuffling of feet.

“Are you all done Rishia?” The magical girl asked, turning around to face the slightly older girl.

“Fue!” Rishia squeaked in surprise, her hands covering her heart as it started pounding at being startled. She had elected to keep her original white shirt and green overdress which ended at her knees like a skirt. Over that she had put on a simple set of something called [Pikyu Leather] breast plate, pauldrons, and bracers. Something that would add a bit of protection but not inhibit her speed or be otherwise awkward that would get in the way.

“Well, well little lady, that looks pretty good on you!” Erhard commented before Homura could say anything. “[Pikyu Leather], eh? Good choice, it’ll do a good job keeping you warm and is reliable enough all the way until you [Class Up] if you take good care of it.”

Rishia gave a hesitant nod.

“We learned about it at school in Faubley. I never thought I’d need that knowledge while I was there, but...if I’m going to help Dame Akemi properly then I need to be prepared!” She said slowly before making herself seem as confident as possible at the end. Homura knew it was mostly bravado, but there was actual steel and fire beneath all that trepidation.

All she had to do was bring it to the surface and make it stay there.

“That is a good mindset to have Rishia.” Homura said encouragingly, before turning back to Erhard.

“So what did you have planned for her Mister Erhard?” She asked, Rishia looking curiously between the two of them. The blacksmith gave a big toothy grin, then from behind his back he set what appeared to be a steel ring with sharpened edges and a handle in the middle.

“A chakram?” Homura asked, tilting her head to the side. She had never seen one in real life, but she remembered Sayaka and Kyoko going on about some video game character that used a set that apparently controlled fire. Something about whether him or a guy who used a water guitar was better.

She had honestly mostly just ignored them but did look up chakrams out of curiosity.

“Oh? So you know what this is Shield Lass?” He asked.

“Sort of. I know more of them than anything.” He gave a big grin in response.

“Well I made this while experimenting with some wind affinity enchantments from a witch friend of mine. It took a lot of work, but we managed to incorporate a spell that mimics the effect of what you heroes call a boomerang.” He explained, gesturing with his arms. Homura could tell after similar experiences back in her world, especially from Madoka, that he wanted to ramble on about the details but held himself back.

“A boomerang?” Rishia asked, never having heard of it.

“It is a blunt aboriginal weapon with a bent shape that when thrown is designed to return to at least the original vicinity of the thrower.” Homura idly explained, using her admittedly low level [Appraisal] skill on it out of curiosity.

**{ Steel Chakram**

**Throwing Weapon (medium damage, slashing), Melee Weapon (light damage, slashing)**

**Equip Bonus: [Return Throw], [Blood Clean Coating] }**

“I take it that this [Return Throw] is the enchant you are talking about?” Homura asked, Rishia making an interested face at having some new knowledge dangled in front of her.

“Indeed it is!” Erhard declared, crossing his arms with a proud grin on his face. But it slowly turned into an expression of minor frustration.

“The only thing is that we can only seem to get it to stick to a few specifically shaped objects, and on top of that the success rate is really low, or the accuracy of the return is poor. That right there is our best result so far. So I’m trusting you to field test it real good for us little lady. Got that?” He said, his serious expression drilling into Rishia.

“Fuee!! Yes sir! Understood sir!” Rishia said rapid fire, her spine going ramrod straight as she began to bow repeatedly. Erhard only laughed loudly in response, making her blush in embarrassment.

“You’re okay little lady, just try not to break it and make sure to take care of the Shield Lass here with the other lady. Now is there anything else I can help you with?” He asked.

“Actually yes. I would like to ask for a few commissioned pieces for me. Some shields specifically. I want to test the exact limits of the [Weapon Copy] system.” Homura explained, getting a small frown from the blacksmith. “I need to know exactly what my Legendary Shield does and does not consider a shield, or even a new shield. I’ll make sure to pay you for the commission, but you will also still be able to sell them to other patrons that might be interested later.”

“I’m still conflicted on how I feel about you and the other Heroes’ weapons stealing my work so easily.” He griped with a huff. “If it were any of the other heroes lass, I’d probably just kick them out of my store.”

Erhard sighed while rubbing the back of his head, looking down at the small girl with eyes of purple fire.

“Alright, I can listen to some of your requests. But I expect you to help source the materials if I think I need them. Deal?”

“Deal.” Homura agreed. Stepping up to his counter, she explained the first few of her ideas and requests. Rishia passed the time by practicing with her new weapon, being as careful as she could to not damage anyone or anything.

P-*-*-*-H

It was almost an hour later that saw the two girls leaving from the Blacksmith’s. Rishia’s new chakram was slipped into a pouch like sheath on her back, somewhere it wouldn’t get in the way like on her hip, but easy enough to grab and reach in a hurry if needed. She looked like a proper novice adventurer, Homura mused to herself as they made their way to the inn where she sensed Raphtalia and Sakura.

“It is nice to see that you seem to have a natural affinity for your new weapon.” Homura told Rishia who made a nervous face.

“It is a bit weird,” Rishia said softly, reaching back to rub the handle. “I’ve never really been comfortable handling the few weapons I’ve tried, even though all of my instructors tried to tell me that I wasn’t bad. None of them felt...right, I guess is a good word. This chakram...I wouldn’t say it feels perfect, but it definitely feels better.”

Here Rishia stopped at the side of the road at the intersection before the inn. Then she bowed deeply.

“Thank you for this opportunity, Dame Akemi. It... means so much to someone like me…”

Homura stopped and stared, completely unsure of how to deal with such sincere emotions. Even after a similar event with Raphtalia previously.

“Just do your best to help me stop the Waves and stay alive. That is all I ask of you.” Homura finally said, her voice hard. But Rishia caught the undertone of compassion. Raphtalia had been correct when she warned her that Homura could seem cold at times, despite the fact she really did care. Rishia stood and gave a smile to the Shield Hero’s back, the young girl having already turned and began walking away.

As they neared the inn, the two of them heard loud angry chirping coming from the stable, followed by some ineligible griping that sounded familiar. Exchanging a look, both of them seemed to realize what was going on. Making a beeline straight for the stable, they both stalled in the doorway at seeing what was going on.

“Will you stop chewing on me Sakura?! I don’t know when Mistress will get back, I swear!” Raphtalia shouted, trying to pry Sakura’s mouth off of the top of her head. Homura and Rishia both stopped in their tracks, stunned at the absurd sight that they were witnessing.

Surprisingly, Rishia was the first to react, while Homura stood there gaping slightly.

“Sakura! Don’t eat Raphtalia!” Rishia exclaimed, running over and frantically trying to help pry Sakura off of the raccoon girl. That served well enough to draw their attention to the fact that the person in question was also present, leading Sakura to finally let go and start chirping happily while waving her wings.

Raphtalia meanwhile, finally freed from her torment, rushed over and crouched slightly to hide behind her slightly shorter Mistress. Homura blinked in shock, turning her head slightly to look at her from the corner of her eyes. Seeing her glaring over her pauldron at the happy pink bird, her tail bristling, her hair a disheveled mess covered in Sakura’s slobber.

 _‘Is Raphtalia_ growling _?’_ Homura thought to herself at hearing a soft growling sound coming from the normally even-tempered girl. Shaking her head slightly, she turned her attention back to the still chirping bird.

“What do you think you were doing, Sakura?” the black hair girl asked, narrowing her eyes in frustration at the bird who was starting to realize she was in trouble.

“I leave for a couple of hours to handle some important business that is the reason I had to push you so hard, and when we return you are bullying Raphtalia.” She chastised, hearing Raphtalia’s soft growling get a bit louder, Sakura looking down at the ground. Homura honestly felt a bit bad about having to play angry mother with Sakura, but honestly it was necessary.

Holding her disappointed stare for a while longer, Homura finally sighed and stepped up to the tall pink bird who had started to sheepishly scrape the ground slightly with her claws. As Homura walked up to Sakura, she heard and sensed Raphtalia scramble to hide behind Rishia instead, still glaring at Sakura.

“Sakura,” Homura said, stopping just outside the filolial’s stall, her exhaustion seeping into her voice. At hearing her name from the girl she thought of as her mother, she looked up like the chastised child that she was.

“Apologize to Raphtalia.”

Watching Sakura turn to look at Raphtalia who bristled her tail a bit puffier and hid even more, the filolial realized she took things too far. Looking back down, she made a soft cooing sound. Homura nodded, looking towards Raphtalia as well.

It took a few seconds for her to notice, but when she saw her Mistress staring at her, Raphtalia realized that Homura was waiting for her to say something. Like her parents did when she was bullied and teased by Keel when they were younger.

Taking several deep breaths to force her anger and frustration back down like Homura had taught her, her tail slowly smoothed as she stepped out from behind Rishia. But still she kept a frustrated scowl on her face.

“I’ll forgive you for now Sakura, but please don’t do it again. I’m not your chew toy to vent on when Mistress had business to do without us.” She huffed, putting her hands on her hips.

Sakura only responded with another sad chirp. Homura gave a soft sigh. It wasn’t perfect, but at least the bulk of the issue has been resolved for now.

“I will be back soon with food for you once I get it cooked Sakura. But you are going to have to stay here and rest until tomorrow as punishment for bullying Raphtalia. Tomorrow you can rest in the fields while we train Rishia.” The magical girl explained, getting a small bit of protest out of the filolial that was swiftly shut down with an exhausted sharp-eyed glare. Sighing softly once again, Homura reached out to lightly pet and scratch Sakura’s head, getting soft happy cooing sounds in return.

“You are a good girl for pushing yourself so hard to help Rishia’s family and village, but you need to also be nice to your friends and family.” With that bit said, Homura stepped back and turned to the other two girls, grimacing softly at Raphtalia’s hair, having been in similar situations when she was younger. If just with a lot less slobber and far more gum.

“While I cook dinner, you two should go take a bath. Rishia, please help Raphtalia with her hair.” Getting a nod of understanding and a thankful nod respectively, the two girls were quick to leave so they could grab their cleaning supplies before running off to the small nearby bathhouse.

Homura resigned herself to yet another long night of cooking a massive meal. At this rate, she was going to be a master chef by the time she returned to her own world, she mused to herself.

 _‘I wonder if Madoka would enjoy my cooking…?’_ she thought to herself, heading off to find somewhere to prepare dinner.

P-*-*-*-H

The next morning, Homura woke up a bit earlier than normal to prepare some extra food for everyone. She knew Sakura was going to be more hungry than normal after skimping out on meals for the last few days on top of the amount of energy she had to have burned with all that running.

Grabbing the large platter loaded high with various foods, Homura acknowledged to herself that her skills were definitely improving as she made her way to the stables. A part of her was also starting to find it relaxing outside of the sheer amount she had to make.

Nudging the door open with her toes, her casual gray and purple day dress swaying around in the early morning breeze as she carefully balanced the tray to not drop anything, she called out.

“Sakura! I have breakfast!” she called out. Fully turning around, she stopped and stared in shock at the sight that greeted her.

Ruffling her feathers while shaking her head slightly at hearing the familiar voice, Sakura had grown even more and was now shaped more like an egg covered in feathers than her previous ostrich-like form.

“Pue!” the giant egg-shaped bird chirped happily, bobbing slightly side to side.

“Sakura?” Homura asked, her brain still in the process of processing the sudden massive change.

Sakura only tilted her head to the side slightly, cooing in confusion. But Homura recognized the flower-like swirl of feathers that had partly helped inspire her name.

“Great, another massive growth spurt.” Homura sighed out loud, setting her tray of food on a nearby table. Turning to look Sakura up and down, who was still looking confused. Like it was _Homura_ that had grown and turned into a giant feather egg.

“Please tell me you are not going to be eating _more_? I can barely keep up with it as it is.”

“Kuu-pue?” Sakura chirped, perking up at hearing _‘eating more’._ Homura only sighed once more, feeling herself lose years off her life every time she sighed.

 _‘This world is going to drive off what sanity I have left by the time I can return to my own world.’_ She thought to herself. Shaking her head at the slightly depressing thought, she opened the stall so that Sakura could wriggle her way out of it. Turns out while most of her bulk was now indeed feathers, she still barely fit in the stall that she had slept in last night.

Homura could only watch in stunned bewilderment when Sakura finally squeezed her way out, showing just how large she had gotten.

“ _Please_ tell me you are not going to keep growing at this rate Sakura.” Homura begged. Sakura only tilted her head in confusion before cheering slightly, neither confirming nor denying the accusation as far as the magical girl was concerned.

Homura could only shake her head and pray to whatever god was listening and willing to help ease her suffering. Not that she expected any help.

Taking a moment to set out the small assortment, by Sakura’s standard, of food that she prepared and brought down with her, she then turned to the barely able to wait Sakura. Walking over she began to pet on the large bird who eagerly bent down to get the most attention she could while cooing happily.

“Thank you for pushing yourself so hard for Rishia, Sakura. I will cook you some more food when we all get to the field while Raphtalia helps bring Rishia up to speed.”  
  
Sakura light out a startled chirp before pouting up sadly at Homura, who had just bopped her gently yet firmly on top of her head.

“And please stop antagonizing your party members like you did last night.” Giving the filolial a stern stare, Sakura finally gave a slow whine while she looked down that sounded like a chastened child’s “Yes ma’am.”

“Good girl. Now go enjoy your breakfast. I have to go make sure the other girls have something to eat as well.” She said as she walked out of the stable, a happy chirping following her response.

P-*-*-*-H

Turns out that she needn’t have worried. Rishia had gone ahead and purchased her and Raphtalia a light breakfast from the tavern itself not knowing how long she was going to be with Sakura. Deciding it wasn’t a bad idea, and happy to take a break from cooking for a change, Homura followed suit.

“Are you ready for today Rishia?” Homura asked the older girl as she joined them at the table. 

Rishia looked a bit blankly at the younger girl for a moment, obviously not completely awake yet. Blinking several times, the question finally processed.

“What exactly do you have planned for me today?” she asked. Homura just chuckled softly. At least it seemed like Rishia wouldn’t react with panic when not completely awake. Good to know.

“I am not sure how long we will be out, but I plan to have you hunt monsters in the surrounding area with Raphtalia. I...want to make sure you get used to fighting on weaker monsters and start bringing your level up before we head out and get into more serious training.” Homura answered as she started eating her own breakfast.

“I myself will be spending time with Sakura to reward her for getting us here as fast as she did. Maybe if she wants to, we will even join in and start getting some experience working together.” The other girls nodded in understanding.

After eating their breakfast in relative quiet, only occasional bits of conversation happening, Homura pulled out her map, making some space on the table in front of it as she rolled it out and held the edges down with the bottom of their plates.

“So Rishia, you would have a better idea than any of us. According to Kawasumi-senpai, the next Wave is here in two weeks. In relation to that, is there anywhere that you know of with a known dense monster population, preferably around the level 30 to 40 range, that we can reliably make it to, train for a few days, and return here on time?”

Both Raphtalia and Rishia blinked in slight shock at the seemingly random question. Rishia herself also felt a small bit of panic beginning to stir, but seeing the earnest look on Homura’s face and the growing excited look in Raphtalia’s, she took a deep breath to steady her nerves.

Looking over the map, Rishia let her mind return to some of her lessons from her time in Faubley. After a moment of thinking, considering and discarding ideas as she ran the math of travel time using a normal filolial carriage, she finally settled on one that should work.

“Here.” Rishia said, pointing to an area of the map that was only marked with symbols denoting a forest west of Melromarc and Castle Town.

“This area is part of a small country that borders Melromarc and Faubley. There used to be a dragon that lived here a few decades ago but was killed by one of its kind, but there are still a large amount of a variety of monsters present ranging from level 20 to some instances of level 60. Due to the...proclivity of dragons, most of the monsters present will be draconic in nature, even if it’s diluted down to mostly their original species. If we consider Sakura’s normal travel speed to be a bit higher than a normal filolial, then I think we could realistically make it in about four days each way, leaving a maximum of 6 days to train.” Rishia answered.

Homura nodded along with the explanation. It made for a sound plan, but there was one statement in there that caught her attention.

“What do you mean by the ‘proclivity of dragons’?” she asked curiously.

“Fue!” Rishia gave a soft squeak as she blushed deeply before looking away.

“Does Dame Akemi’s world not have dragons?” she asked after a moment.

“No, in my world they are merely legends. It...may be possible that they once existed, however they are either now all extinct or only a few extremely well hidden remain if that is the case.”

Hearing that answer, Rishia took another deep breath to calm herself.

“Dragons are represented as a peak of power. No one knows exactly why, but they are known to be...promiscuous in nature, widely accepted to their nature to want to dominate everything they consider ‘theirs’ or that challenges them. So they often...mate with everything in their territory, and as creatures that are considered extensions of the world, they are able to conceive with almost every species. The only other known example of that ability is the Legendary Heroes, who receive the blessing of the World.” Rishia slowly explained.

Homura just stared at Rishia. It had been a while since something in this world frayed at her sanity, but apparently it wasn’t going to end anytime soon.

Several hours later Homura was preparing the usapils that Raphtalia and Rishia had gathered, Sakura herself was currently napping after Homura had apparently petted her into submission. It turns out that Rishia had some experience with preparing and cooking animals from helping some of the villagers in her family’s small village. It apparently even helped take some of the edge off of killing the animals since she wasn’t completely averse to the blood.

Homura absolutely hated familiarizing these girls with killing in any capacity, but she tried to console herself with the fact that they themselves chose to do it for her. Granted it seemed as in line with the nature of this world, killing was not as abhorrent to these people as a modern person in her world.

What Homura did find very strange was that according to Rishia, her stats were barely increasing each level. In fact, despite now being level 5 and older than Raphtalia was when she first started, her _highest_ stat was only _half_ of what the young raccoon girl’s _lowest_ had been at level 1. 

Despite that, while Homura couldn’t perceive any physical differences in damage, she did notice that the occasional spell Rishia would cast was more...potent, if not necessarily stronger. It was strange to the magical girl, Rishia had the same [Spark] as Raphtalia, and Raphtalia’s stats increased at a seemingly absurd rate. Was there something else going on then?

Homura sighed deeply as she started plating up everyone's meals. Why could even supposedly simple things not even be simple. When someone leveled up, their stats should likewise increase, but that wasn’t happening with Rishia.

And Homura had absolutely no idea why.

Waking up Sakura so that she could eat her portion, Homura decided to shove the idea out of her mind for now. For now, as long as Rishia could provide some form of assistance to them and not get herself killed, Homura would be happy with that.

After eating, it would be time for her to start relearning how to work with a team...and teaching said team how to work as a team as well.

 _‘I wonder if this is how Mami felt having to train a bunch of rookies at the same time…’_ the thought idly flashed through her mind as she set to work doing basic teamwork exercises.

P-*-*-*-H

Looking over the panting forms of her other three party members, Homura let a satisfied smile cross her face. It had been almost 6 hours since she had started running them through various drills, courses and challenges to get them to all learn how to work with each other and herself.

Then she had them all work together against her. Her reasoning had been simple, she needed to train herself as well as a Shielder unable to realistically attack, which would require a complete change in her usual methods and style.

Unlearning her previous habits was turning out to be harder than she thought. All too often she kept disengaging or knocking her opponents away so she could draw a gun or explosive, only to either be shocked or lose her advantage. Slowly but surely however, she was starting to learn how to lock enemies down and open up their guard at close range so that in later battles her partners will have openings for them to strike at.

“I think that is enough for today.” Homura announced after the three girls had managed to drag themselves back their feet.

“So I think we should all head back into town for dinner. Plus I still need to stop at the [Dragon’s Hourglass] in the church so that we can be sent to the Wave when it happens.” She gave them an encouraging smile like Mami used to oh so long ago. “After that we can all head back to the inn and relax for the rest of the night.”

All of them started cheering tiredly. They all agreed that though Homura may be a slave driver and seemed emotionless most of the time, they had all learned that she cared in her own way. She wanted them to be safe and to learn, so she was tough on them, but she didn’t want to break their spirits, so she rewarded them in various ways when they did good.

Homura didn’t know it yet, but already her group was the closest knit and most technically grounded party between the four heroes, and it would only continue to be.

P-*-*-*-H

Homura did her best to stifle a yawn that tried it’s best to escape her. After spending quite a significant amount of energy on playing with Sakura who just never seemed to run out of energy when it came to spending time with her and helping get Rishia a grounding in the basics, waking up early like they had was one of the last things any of them wanted.

Even the determined girl Raphtalia was groggy and not completely awake yet. But Homura had decided that they had burnt enough time not preparing more for the Waves, so they had eaten and left the inn early before heading to Erhard’s to pick up her first commission from him before they left.

As they approached the blacksmith’s, they saw him outside the door flipping a sign on the door to “Open”. Unlike the group of girls, he looked chipper and wide awake.

“Well if it isn’t the Shield Lass and her lovely little friends! I’m surprised to see you all here so early in the morning.” Erhard greeted; his voice still loud but noticeably toned back. Probably due to it being so early and the few patrons that were walking the street didn’t look to be happy at being awake either.

“Come on in! You’re lucky, I managed to finish the first of your orders last night.” He explained, holding the door open for everyone but Sakura to shuffle in. Not that she didn’t try, but with her thick plumage, she just couldn’t get through the door. Homura sighed at the sight.

“I’m sorry Sakura, you will just have to wait outside. It should not take us long.” Homura tried to explain, getting a whining sound in response. Gently, but firmly, Homura planted her hand on top of the filolial’s head before pushing her out of the doorway and closing the door before she could try to get back in.

“It is good to hear that you managed to finish. I just hope it actually works.” Homura responded, completely ignoring the jostling of the door, fairly confident Sakura wasn’t clawing at it. The last thing she wanted was to have to pay to replace the thick and heavy door.

“Well, I can confirm that it was forged. But the stats aren’t what I’d call normal for a shield, though what it has I say would make sense.” Erhard explained, grabbing something behind the counter. Homura walked up to the counter as he gently and show fully laid out what looked to be some kind of bracelet.

The main centerpiece of the bracelet was the roughly 5 centimeter (2 inch) replica of the [Small Shield] that was situated in the middle of two 1 centimeter (half inch) wide leather straps that were only a few centimeters long before they terminated in a set of clasps. Nothing super ornate about it, obviously the work of one who did not make jewelry for a living.

“What do you think lass?” The blacksmith asked, making a bit of a proud pose. Homura tilted her head in response, looking at it.

“I think Raphtalia would be happy to wear it even if it doesn’t work how I hope for it to.” She commented, Raphtalia making a choking sound as she whirled around to look wide eyed at her.

Ignoring the raccoon girl for the time being, Homura reached out and picked up the bracelet. She waited a few seconds with bated breath, hoping her idea would work. Just as she was starting to lose hope, a pop up appeared in front of her.

**{ Weapon Copy Activated! }**

**{ Shield Bracelet**

**-Abilities Locked- Equip Bonus: Agility +1, skill “Air Strike Shield” }**

Smiling softly to herself, she willed her own shield to transform into the new [Shield Bracelet]. Erhard jerked for a second at the flash of light.

“I swear I’m never gonna get used to that…” he grumbled in a huff, before giving the Shield Hero a smile. “Well Shield Lass, it looks like your little idea worked.”

Homura gave a slow nod, too busy looking at the new skill she just unlocked.

“Mister Erhard, would you mind if I test something out real quick? It should not cause any damage to your merchandise or anything.” She asked, not wanting to be rude to the old blacksmith that’s been so helpful.

“Hmm?” He looked at her curiously. “Sure, go right on ahead, as long as you’re sure it ain’t gonna break anything.”

Stepping over to a large, more open area of the store that her gut told her would be large enough, she held out a hand in front of her.

“ **[ _Air Strike Shield_ ]**!”

With the call of her skill, a circle appeared in her vision with an icon indicating she should choose the direction and area of the skill. Focusing on the area directly in front of her hand, a large shield shape formed from what felt like magic but at the same time wasn’t.

The shield itself was shaped like a Heater Shield and was formed from slightly translucent purple energy. On the face of the shield was a shape like an hourglass with wings coming from the lower half that went to the upper corners of the shield.

Tilting her head to the side as she regarded the shield skill curiously, she heard Raphtalia and Rishia make sounds of amazement. Glancing over at Erhard, she saw him withdrawing his hand from over his shoulder, almost as if he had tried to grab a weapon out of habit.

“Well,” he started, quickly gathering his calm air back around him. “That’s an impressive looking spell Shield Lass. How strong is it?”

“I do not know.” She said honestly, looking closer at it, feeling along the power that connected her and the [Air Strike Shield] as she walked around it.

“If I had to guess, not as high as my own defense, but close. Maybe...80% or so.” She answered after a moment.

Erhard finally walked up to it, one hand on his hip and the other on his chin, thinking. If Homura hadn’t been paying attention, she wouldn’t have seen his eyes flash.

“Well it seems I can’t analyze it with [Appraisal]. So that just means I’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way.” He muttered. Before Homura could react to that statement, the blacksmith threw a solid punch to the dead center of the shield.

Raising her shield out of habit when she felt the resounding blow through the air, she heard a small cracking sound come from the magical shield. When Erhard pulled his fist back, she was able to see the crack that had formed underneath it from just his punch.

 _‘Just how strong is Mister Erhard?!’_ Homura thought to herself. If that was what a simple punch of his could do, what would a blow with an actual weapon do?

“Not bad Shield Lass! I’d say it could withstand reliably against an armed level 40 before [Class Up], maybe even immediately after a [Class Up].” The blacksmith commented. “If that was seriously 80% of your defense before reaching level 40, then I’d say your title of [Shield Hero] is appropriate!” He laughed.

Dismissing the remains of her skill, Homura rolled her eyes. Paying for the commissioned bracelet, she gave it to Raphtalia for the minor boost in agility it provided. Promising to get Rishia something once she had a more defined style built up and confirming that her other two commissions would be done before the next Wave in two weeks, they set out from Melromarc.

P-*-*-*-H

Homura was happy when Rishia turned out to be spot on, even when Sakura had to slow down when taking the carriage down mostly wild trails to get far enough away from signs of civilization to reach a location where monsters were more common. 

So four days after they had set out with one of them traversing the wild forest covered hills they reached a reasonable location to make a camp. Far enough away from the bulk of the monster activity that they didn’t have to worry as much about being attacked, but close enough it wouldn’t take them too long to travel.

Unhooking Sakura, Homura set about making sure the carriage was in no danger of rolling away or being otherwise damaged. Raphtalia took towards the task of setting up shelter, while Rishia gathered a small stockpile of firewood and got a small cooking fire going as the sun was beginning it’s trek downwards.

The day after they first arrived was extremely lucrative as far as level and material grinding went. It was definitely a time that Homura was glad to have retained the seemingly infinite storage capacity she had enjoyed in her world, even if slightly different, otherwise they would have had to make several trips back to camp.

Rishia had been quick to pick up on how to fight the significantly higher-level monsters. But she trusted her party mates to protect and cover her. While there was of course the occasional stumble, teamwork overall rapidly improved.

They settled into a groove where Sakura and Raphtalia as the more experienced and capable fighters would lead the charge. Rishia meanwhile would stay fairly close to Homura who made sure to keep her safe while she provided cover fire in the form of spells and her chakram. Randomly, Homura would direct one of the girls at the front to switch with either her or Rishia. Letting all of them get used to fighting together in whatever position would be needed of them.

It was the next day however, when something new had happened. Something no one had been expecting.

With Rishia having reached level 28, Sakura and Raphtalia both reaching level 37, while Homura had reached level 35, Homura had allowed a slightly late start to the day as a small reward. Rishia had spent the time gathering some more firewood, humming a song to herself while Homura worked on compounding various compounds, mostly experimenting at this point.

All of a sudden, Homura heard Rishia let out a small scream of surprise followed by the sound of something falling down a hill. Rushing out from the back of the carriage, she saw Raphtalia rushing over to the area where Rishia supposedly fell from.

“Be careful Raphtalia, the last thing we want is you falling down as well.” Homura barked as she made her way over. Glancing around she worked out the safest and fastest route down through the shrubbery, a good amount looking crushed. Probably from the poor green haired teen that had rolled through just a minute ago.

“Owie…” She heard Rishia whining as she neared the bottom. Brushing aside the tree branches, she heard Raphtalia and Sakura following behind her.

“Are you alri-” Homura had started to ask but stopped as soon as she saw what Rishia had stopped in front of.

It was a [Dragon’s Hourglass], overgrown by obviously several decades if not more of foliage.

And it was startling close to being filled at the bottom.

With a flash of light, a beam of light from her shield collided with the Hourglass, and a new counter replaced the old one that had 7 days left.

Homura stared at the new time steadily ticking down in the corner of her vision.

**[ 15 : 01 ]**

**[ 15 : 00 ]**

**[ 14 : 59 ]**

If what she was told by Itsuki was correct, that meant that she was going to be teleported to a Wave in just under 15 minutes at the rate it was ticking down. She swallowed thickly at the thought.

For some reason, it felt like a lump of ice had formed in her throat and sank into her heart. For a moment, she couldn’t figure out why. After all, she had fought Witches and near fearlessly entered Labyrinths.

“Mistress Homura, was that what I think it was?” Raphtalia asked, looking a bit shocked.

Turning to face the girls, she realized why she was scared. Not for herself, but for her party members, the one’s trusting _her_ to protect them. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.

“Yes Raphtalia. That was my Shield linking up with this hourglass just like in Melromarc. The next Wave connected to this hourglass is in...about 13 minutes.” Homura answered with a soft sigh. The rest of her party looked shocked and scared, except for Sakura who just was tilting her head to the side in confusion.

“W-what do we do now?!” Rishia squeaked fearfully, looking ready to hyperventilate.

“Take some deep breaths and prepare for combat.” Homura ordered firmly, trying to make herself seem like the calm in the storm. “Sakura, I need you to quickly take Rishia and Raphtalia back up to the carriage. Girls, get equipped as fast as you can.”

“Kuee!” Sakura chirped in understanding, not even giving the girls a chance to get on her before grabbing them under her wings and jumping back up the hill. Homura herself turned back to the hourglass as they screamed in surprise at their rapid ascent back up to their camp.

She didn’t know why, but she felt a strong resonance with the hourglass. She wouldn’t say it was stronger now than in Melromarc, but more noticeable without all the other activity of the church going on around her. Slowly she walked closer, not having been allowed to get this close to the one in the Church. As she approached, she noticed the gem on her shield seemed to glow brighter the closer she got.

 _‘Is there more of a connection between the [Legendary Armaments] and the [Dragon Hourglasses] than anyone knows?’_ she thought to herself. Frowning softly to herself, she reached up and lightly tapped the glowing shield to the glass.

Homura watched transfixed as a small swirl of sand inside seemed to move toward her shield, giving off the light of an item being absorbed. She couldn’t help be a bit disappointed when she didn’t receive a notification of a shield being unlocked, meaning she probably was not at a high enough level yet.

 _‘If only I had my shield. Then I wouldn’t have to put the others in danger fighting.’_ Homura thought with a bit of spite, trying to will her old shield back for the first time in a while. She jerked slightly when a small pulse of purple colored lightning sparked from her shield, pushing it off of the hourglass, before a message popped up in her vision.

**{ ERROR : Restriction Release Criteria not met. Seal on [Shield Hero]’s [Time Manipulation] maintained. Applicable armament form remains locked. }**

It took a moment for the meaning behind the message to be processed, but when it did Homura couldn’t keep the scowl from forming on her face. This just confirmed that _something_ was purposely restricting her for some reason. Glaring up at the [Dragon’s Hourglass], she assumed it was also somehow involved, possibly as some sort of key considering this was the first time she received a notification like that.

Scowling she turned her attention back to her new timer.

**[ 05 : 10 ]**

**[ 05 : 09 ]**

**[ 05 : 08 ]**

Forcing herself to take several deep breaths, she turned and began to make her way back up the hill. There would be time later to figure it out. For now, she had to ensure that her party survived the upcoming Wave.

Considering that legend states that they are meant to bring about the end of the World, the once Magical Girl was not expecting an easy time. 

As she made it back up to the camp, she saw Raphtalia and Rishia both tightening up their armor. Nodding towards them she looked over to Sakura who was standing near the wagon, waiting. It was then that Homura was struck by a thought.

 _‘Will the carriage come with us when we teleport?’_ Frowning in thought, she considered it.

“Sakura, come here. I do not want to lose the carriage. So we need to make sure you are wearing it.” Homura ordered, heading to the front of the carriage, grabbing the harness and proceeding to loosely strap Sakura to it. Homura just hoped she was right and that as long as it was “equipped” it would be brought with them, because there was no guarantee otherwise that they would be able to find their way back to this spot after they were teleported away.

Turning around, she swept her eyes over the nervous and terrified looking girls. Drawing herself up as tall as she can, she did her best to project confidence the way Mami always used to back in those early timelines. Glancing at the timer, she saw she had a minute left.

“All three of you, listen up. I do not know what we’ll encounter on the other side. Stay close, stay safe and make sure to keep an eye on each other. I will give further orders once I see the battlefield.” Homura ordered, her voice firm.

She would keep her party safe. Even if she would prefer to only have to rely on herself, that was not an option in this world. These three girls trusted her to guide and protect them, and if that’s what it took to return to Madoka then so be it. She would play the _Hero_.

Getting understanding responses from all of them she focused on the timer.

**[ 00 : 03 ]**

**[ 00 : 02 ]**

**[ 00 : 01 ]**

**[ 00 : 00 ]**

The instant the timer hit zero, an echoing boom seemed to resonate throughout the World. Before Homura and her party could process the sound, the scenery had changed around them in an instantaneous flash. The first thing that the girls processed was the deep red sky that to Homura’s magical senses felt like the World itself was bleeding. Slowly, but gaining speed, cracks began to appear and grow, gaping wounds in the fabric of the World.

Once the cracks had grown large enough, what appeared to be little dots from the distance they were currently at seemed to fall from them.

“It’s happening again…” she heard Raphtalia say fearfully, her voice quivering in growing panic.

“Sakura, leave the wagon, we will come back for it.” Homura ordered. Whipping towards her side, facing where she noticed was roughly the center of the cracked sky, she felt a magic that was much stronger than any of the other specks that had appeared so far. If she had to give it a comparison, it was as if a Witch had suddenly appeared among her hoard of familiars. Some instinct within her said that _that_ was their target.

“Over there. Our target just appeared in that direction, roughly in the middle. Ignore the familiars for now, only deal with the ones in our way. We have to shut down the Wave first.” Homura expanded on her orders from earlier. She heard affirmations from Sakura and a hesitant one from Rishia. But there was one missing.

“Raphtalia!” She barked, turning to look at the first person she brought into her party. She scowled for a moment, then softened her face when she saw the panic and terror that had overtaken the teenage looking raccoon girl.

“Raphtalia,” she said in a softer voice, lightly snapping in front of the girls’ face, getting her to startle out of her oncoming panic attack. “Whatever it is, focus on the now. I promise I will protect you, but I need your help if we are going to stop this Wave.”

Raphtalia seemed to latch on to those words like a lifeline, swallowing thickly as she forced her breathing back under control using the breathing exercises Homura had taught her to deal with her night terrors.

“Do-do you promise Mistress Homura…?” She muttered. Her shaking hand settled on to the hilt of her sword at her waist.

“Of course Raphtalia. Please lend me your sword, and I will lend you my Shield.”

Taking one more deep breath, Raphtalia visibly forced her hand to steady and draw her sword.

“I’m ready now Mistress!” She declared. Homura frowned internally to herself, making a note to talk to Raphtalia after this was done.

P-*-*-*-H

Raphtalia forced the memories of that day down as far as she could manage.

She had known what she was getting into when she had learned that Mistress was the Shield Hero. She had known that she would have to fight in the Waves that had destroyed her home and claimed her parents.

She had thought she was ready.

But she had been wrong. She had been oh so wrong.

When Rishia had fallen and stumbled upon that [Dragon’s Hourglass], she had been amazed. It wasn’t until Mistress Homura’s shield had linked with it that she had remembered what another hourglass would mean.

Another battle sight they would have to fight at.

That feeling had only gotten worse when they were told the next Wave was going to be in 15 minutes, instead of a week. As she had scrambled to get her armor put back on, her hands had started to shake as the memories trickled back in. Then they had been teleported and seeing those dreadful cracks once more had brought her right back to the cliff. Watching her parents be devoured by a three headed dog as she fell over the edge into the ocean below.

Then Mistress had brought her back to the here and now. Reminded her that she was not the same weak little girl that she was back then.

Now she was the Sword of the Shield Hero. She was nearing level 40, higher than most of the knights that had been posted at the late Lord Seatto’s manor, and due to that high level appeared as if she were now 16. She had the companionship of Rishia and Sakura, both strong combatants in their own ways, even if Rishia was still catching up to the high standard that Mistress expected. Most importantly of all, she had Mistress Homura.

Drawing her sword, a gift from Mister Erhard, she gently buried the memories and fears from back then, just like she had buried the tattered clothing her parents had died in. She remembered the kind words of the blacksmith that he had spoken to her before they had left. She would protect and serve the young woman that saved her and was so dedicated to saving others.

Sakura took point, leading the charge as they all ran in the direction that Mistress had indicated. Nearing the edge of the mass of monsters, they finally got a good look at what was invading this region.

Looking them over, it seemed there were four different kinds of monsters, with the occasional variation. Small humanoid shaped rock golems that were roughly a meter tall, [Interdimensional Gnome]. Flying birds with a wingspan almost as wide as the gnomes were tall, their feathers shimmering green and blue as they darted around with high speed and agility, [Interdimensional Sylph]. Blue monsters that Raphtalia almost thought were some kind of fish beastman that stood a bit taller than the gnomes, but she realized that as they shimmered when they moved they were actually made of water with a glowing light where their heart would be, [Interdimensional Undine]. The final kind of monster was a large black and red lizard that brought to mind a dragon, especially with the wisps of fire coming from their bodies, [Interdimensional Salamander].

“Sakura, focus on taking out the gnomes! Raphtalia, you get the Sylphs and Undine! Rishia, the Salamanders!” Mistress ordered from behind her, in the middle of the group so that she could most reliably cover everyone when needed. “Deal with the ones in our way and the ones that try to attack us directly! Our goal is whatever monster is in charge!”

No one had a chance to respond as they were suddenly upon the monsters. Their pace slowed significantly, but Sakura made quick work of the gnomes, mainly kicking them away, trampling everything else that got in her way. In terms of sheer damage output, Raphtalia knew that Sakura was in the lead on that front.

With a few quick strokes, she brought down a large group of sylphs that all burst into swirls of winds, shimmering feathers being the only thing left. The undine on the other hand slowed and lost limbs, but they quickly grew back. Scowling at her regular attacks being ineffective, she launched a thrust at the glowing spot that was their heart. The undine stopped and suddenly collapsed into a puddle of water and a cracked stone fell to the ground. The water splashing on to a salamander, a loud hissing of steam coming from it as it cried in pain.

These creatures...they had no experience working together at all. Having been drilled repeatedly in team exercises since Sakura was large enough to fight, and doubly so after Rishia joined, even the still relatively inexperienced Raphtalia could see the lack of coordination.

The others seemed to also realize this, Sakura now doing her best to kick the gnomes into the sylphs. Rishia would also target undine near groups of salamanders.

The whole time, her Mistress seemed to flicker around them. Bolts of fire would splash off of her glowing purple barrier. Barrages of thrown boulders would be stopped bare handed and tossed to the side with her insane strength, dispersing groups of enemies, routing them into tighter clusters that they could take out quicker. When she was too far away to place herself in the line of fire, she was quick to summon her [Air Strike Shield] to protect whoever needed it.

Soon, Raphtalia began to feel a tingling in the air, a presence weighing down on them as they neared the area Mistress Homura had pointed out earlier at the beginning. Was this what her Mistress had felt and sensed so far away? She had a long way to go if she wanted to be able to keep up if that was the case.

“Prepare yourselves.” Mistress called out, before suddenly dashing in front of Sakura and shoving her backwards, her [Ribbon Shield] raised and blocking what appeared to be a lance of shadows. 

P-*-*-*-H

Homura winced as she blocked the surprisingly strong blow. She frowned seeing a small but noticeable dip in her health points, even though she was using her highest defense rated shield, the [Ribbon Shield R]. Sakura was a hardy bird, but even she would be hurting if that attack had hit her dead on.

Angling her shield upward, she let the attack start it’s deflection before lashing out with a roundhouse kick to the center mass of the “dark fire”. Feeling herself hit something, she smirked as the mass of dark fire was launched away from her, landing and rolling. As they came skidding to a stop, it was revealed to be a dark suit of armor. In one hand was a black greatsword, the sword and armor stylized with hooks and other “evil” looking embellishments. But what caught her attention the most was the blue, purple and black butterfly wings expanding from the back of the armor.

**[ Interdimensional Unseelie Knight ]**

_‘Well, that explains some things,’_ Homura thought to herself, both her and the knight straightening into more neutral positions. She didn’t know if this was the kind of monster that inspired the legends of the Unblessed Court of Faeries in some of the western stories she had read when younger from another hero, or if it was a translation that the Shield gave to it. But in either case, the likelihood existed that this being was malevolent of humans just like in the stories.

What she knew for sure was that the Wave felt attached to this monster in a similar way that Witches did to [Labyrinths]. So a simple plan: kill this monster, stop the influx of other monsters into this world. 

“Girls, keep an eye out for any openings. I will do my best to keep it engaged. It’s earlier attack managed to get through my defense a bit, so do your best to not get hit.” she instructed. Seeing it making a move to engage, she dashed forward without waiting for a response, readying her shield.

What ensued was a melee of a series of heavy two-handed strikes against her system of blocks and parries. For the most part, while her arm definitely felt the force, as long as she didn’t try to directly stop the attacks, she didn’t take any damage. Glancing around her, the girls alternated between dealing with the small fry and trying to find an opportunity to attack the knight.

Getting an idea, she had to time this perfectly. Not that strike, not that one either. One strike after another, she tried to guide the knight into executing the kind of blow she wanted.

Finally she saw the knight raise it’s sword high above it’s head and give a mighty roar as it brought it down. Holding her shield at the ready, she waited until she began to feel the force of the impact before slipping off to the side, letting the knight drive it’s sword deep into the ground.

“Raphtalia!” she yelled at the top of her voice, drawing her Sword’s attention. Hearing this, the Unseelie tried to retreat, but Homura had expected that.

“ ** _[ Bind ]_**!”

With a flash from her shield, 3 rings appeared around the knight and locked it’s armor rigidly in place. Raphtalia was right behind the rings in contacting the knight.

In a move they had practiced for scenarios just like this, Raphtalia drove her sword into the gap of armor at its throat. Sakura followed behind at seeing an opening and began to pummel into the knight with a series of kicks. Rishia was slower to respond, but seeing it beginning to move, she launched her chakram straight into the sword that was held in a loosened grip, both weapons clattering to the ground.

With blood dripping from it’s now dented armor and it’s weapon gone, Raphtalia and Sakura managed to take over. Alternating blows, the two fell into a rhythm of teamwork, Rishia and Homura interjecting occasionally when it looked like a blow would land, whether from the knight or one of the monsters around them.

Finally, several minutes later, the knight finally fell to the ground. The notification pop up of a frankly ridiculous amount of experience points informed them that it was definitely dead. Homura let out a small breath that she had been holding.

But then she realized something. Turning her eyes skyward, she noticed that while they had stopped spewing monsters, the cracks had remained in the sky.

All of a sudden, her instincts screamed at her.

Turning to the side, she crouched and raised her shield to block the heavy impact that would have cracked her skull wide open. A loud ringing like a bell being struck rang out from her shield as she was forced to take a knee, a significant portion of her health dropping as it felt like the bones in her left arm had fractured from the blow.

“Oho, you managed to block that? Not bad for such a weak Hero!” she heard a savage male’s voice taunt her.

“Get away from Mistress!” Raphtalia roared, dashing at and striking at the mysterious foe who was quick to leap away.

As the immense pressure on her shield was relieved, Homura was quick to stand back up and move her shield from her most likely broken left arm to her still good right. To each side, Raphtalia and Sakura stood slightly in front of her. Raphtalia stood with her sword at the ready, while Sakura was puffed up angrily, wind magic that Homura had never seen her use before whipping around her. Homura took the chance to look over who attacked her, while she felt Rishia get behind them while drawing on a significant amount of magic.

The man looked to be in his late teens or early twenties, with shaggy black hair and savage looking brown eyes with an equally savage smirk on his face. He was wearing what looked to be a purple shirt with black pants and jacket.

“Well well, why is it that your companions are stronger than you are Miss Hero?” he crowed tauntingly, lazilly twirling the tonfas in his hands. What drew Homura’s eyes was the jewel that was embedded on the bottom of each handle. They gave off the same kind of feeling as the [Legendary Armaments], just...not as powerful?

“Man, if the other heroes of this World are this weak, this will be a cake walk.” Homura raised her shield, preparing to block another blow as the mysterious tonfa user made a move to attack.

“You will not harm the Shield Hero.” An almost emotionless voice spoke, but Homura could hear the lingering anger in the voice. Suddenly, in what Homura could tell was a burst of pure speed, what _appeared_ to be a small girl appeared in front of her. But Homura knew that with the sheer amount of _power_ the being in front of her exuded, it was no little girl.

“Wha-?” He started to ask, but the white-haired girl gave an almost negligent wave of her hand. A mighty gust of magic crashed into the tonfa user, sending him flying into the hoard of remaining enemies from the Wave.

Before Homura could ask any questions, the small girl clicked her teeth as a flash of light came from where the man had landed. Immediately afterwards, the cracks that had filled the sky began to fade and the sky returned to its usual blue.

The entire party of the Shield Hero let out a sigh of relief at the sight.

Homura looked around curiously when suddenly a huge herd of filolial began to rush out of the surrounding forest and begin to take out the remaining monsters from the Wave.

“It is a pleasure to meet you Shield Hero.” the white-haired girl said as she approached, her white dress skimming just above the ground.

“My name is Fitoria.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I want to apologize about the fact this is a month later than I had originally planned on releasing this chapter, but it turns out the writing original content is hard. But it's done and holy cow is it a beast.
> 
> 11.5K words
> 
> Definitely my longest yet. The next several chapters should be easier to write since they'll follow much more closely to canon than the last several chapters have. Hopefully, though I doubt, I'll be close to done with season 1 anime content around the time season 2 starts to air. We'll have to see!
> 
> I also want to send a big thanks to Orajje for betaing this chapter for me! Make sure to check out his fics!


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